Knowledge is Power

The night was quiet despite the events that occurred earlier in the afternoon. However the quiet is like nails on a chalkboard in Inarie’s ears. Her head rests comfortably on her pillow, and the bed itself felt like laying on fluffy clouds. Usually Inarie is able to immediately sleep on her bed, yet right now she can't help except to feel restless. Anxious as she keeps thinking that someone else is going to jump on her. Then again, not like anyone can blame her right now as one of Kirigakure guards that's actually a Yoru tried to assassinate her. Spouting venomous words as he branded Inarie to be a traitor, and calling her a Defector.

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary from what Inarie has been called before by the traditional Kaguya. To be called an abomination, a blight to the esteemed Kaguya name. Other things occurred between her and the Kaguya, but Inarie doesn't bring those memories up. Best to smother it with something else than bringing up negative emotions. She learned long ago to keep her distance from the Kaguya, and frankly she almost shut them out from her life. They didn't want her, so why would they start now?

Still, Daisuke helped Inarie from completely removing herself from the Kaguya family. Even so, with the recent event of the attempt on her life, it just didn't make sense to her. Why would she of all people be targeted? On paper, she's just one of many faces in the military ranks that recently got promoted to Chunin. Perhaps it was her fight against Chigetsu? But that didn't make sense because Chigetsu won that fight. Given the capabilities they have, Chigetsu is clearly the stronger one. It would make more sense if this Sedrig targeted Chigetsu instead of Inarie, which could mean that Sedrig’s aim wasn’t to take out the strongest shinobi of Kirigakure or to undermine the Chunin Exams.

The questions and theories swarmed her thoughts to the point that it felt like they were driving her insane. Inarie’s memories flashed back to her vision, one of a giant shadow in the sky, and another deep underwater. The second shadow, a giant serpent it looked like, only said one word that still shakes Inarie to the core. Unworthy, it said to her before it swallowed her whole. At the time of when Inarie had the vision, Inarie was confident that she was worthy. After being defeated by the person she was working with however, Inarie isn’t so sure anymore. Inarie threw everything she had Chigetsu, but Chigetsu was always a step or three ahead of Inarie. Not to mention that Chigetsu seemed to naturally move faster and react faster that Inarie has to spend lots of energy to barely keep up. Chigetsu had everything, the ability, power, skill, and a strong ally to help him.

A sigh of frustration escapes from her lips as Inarie tears herself away from her bed. Dressing herself in a robe to cover her undergarments, Inarie walks out of her room with a ball of pale blue light hovering over her hand. Light taps from her bare feet on the wooden planks; Inarie walks down the normally dark hallway until she comes upon a door at the very end on the left side. With a twist of her hand on the knob, Inarie pushes her way inside what can be better explained as a study. There is a small window facing to the north, and in front of this window is a mahogany desk with a leather cushioned chair. The desk is stacked with books and scrolls. On the south wall is literally a wall of books on shelves from floor to the ceiling. On the west side of the room is another wall of shelves, but this one focuses on holding scrolls both appear to be ancient and modern.

Inarie walks behind the desk to pull open a drawer where she pulls out one of the untouched candles so that she can put it on a candleholder on top of the desk, on the left side. Next to the row of candles in the drawer is a box of matches. With a strike on the box, Inarie lights a match to ignite the wick on the candleholder. Once lit, Inarie extinguishes the flame on the match with a sharp flick of her wrist and opens the window enough to throw out the smoking remains of the match. Inarie never has to worry about a fire occurring from this as the air and ground is too saturated to catch on fire without assistance.

Afterwords, Inarie walks up to the southern wall and extensively browse the shelves. Until finally finding a particularly old book. One that's titled "Rightful Rulers". Of course, Inarie also takes a couple of other books that related to dragons and Yoru history. Then Inarie browses through the western wall to collect a couple of scrolls. One was rather large, and the second was medium sized. Once Inarie sits down at her chair on the desk. She simply removes the books off the desk and places them elsewhere for the time being. Opening the drawer on the bottom right, Inarie brings out her father's journal which looks weather-worn leather with lots of loose pages sticking out bound together by a twine. Then Inarie brings out several parchments, quills, and bottles of ink. Inarie had a lot to learn tonight, and frankly taking notes is a must to make sure that Inarie didn't miss anything.

Inarie picked up one of the books she has collected that was titled as The Tyrant Dragon. She didn't know who that was implied to, and frankly Inarie figured that it was this C she heard about. Yet when she opens the book and begins to read, it was about someone else;

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'Hundreds of years ago, approximately at 603 A.S., the sky was ruled by a terrifying dragon that brought thunderous storms and hurricanes wherever his rage musters. This massive dragon that towered over forests and huts of men is named Tyrsas. His arrogance knew no bounds as he consistently contested with the mortals all over the world and establishing his dominance over the humans. Declaring that he was the rightful ruler of this world, and any who resisted were either killed by his subjects or dealt with by his own teeth.

However, at 755 A.S. this was put to a stop as Tyrsas challenged The Sage Dragon to take the Senjutsu for his own self. Much to his efforts and resources, what people thought was just an erupting volcano that darkened the sky for weeks. That's where the battle raged between lightning and fire. Teeth and claw as they fought for hours until finally. Tyrsas was severely defeated and would have died if it wasn't for his Champion that treated the dragon's wounds. After the fateful battle, Tyrsas and his Loyalists retreated from the face of the earth for a century.

At 855 A.S. Loyalists of Tyrsas' begins to reemerge into the society as they specifically hunt down Yoru that defected from their master. This led to skirmishes in the shadows throughout the continent, doubly so for the Land of Earth. Skirmishes that always end in blood and steel as either party falls to the other. Some defected Yoru tried to escape and hide. But the Loyalists has eyes and ears everywhere. They find the Defectors and kill them without mercy. Some Loyalists change loyalty in favor of another dragon, but Tyrsas doesn't allow them to switch allegiances and neither does his Champion. It's either remain loyal, or die as a traitor.

Even to this day, the Tyrant Dragon remains watchful over all subjects, and doesn't allows traitors to live for long. He doesn't take kindly to betrayal, and holds a grudge longer than anyone's lifetime. Be very alert, keep anyone you love at a distance or better course is to leave them behind. For he will use anyone and anything to kill the Defectors.'

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That was the gist of the book as Inarie simply closes the book and sets it to the side on her desk. For the clear warning, Inarie doesn't seem to be disturbed in the least. She's confident in her village to handle any attack from anywhere, but then there was one of these Loyalists that has been in their military for years. A sigh escapes from her lips as she leans back into the chair and looks up at the ceiling.

"So basically they're calling me traitor and motivated to kill no matter what it takes just because I was born and not kissing ass to some old dragon? Yeah, not a great way to recruit or make allies." Inarie mutters to herself, but with a hand combing through her loose platinum locks she sighs.

"I suppose the situation can be said the same with the Kaguya back in the day. But at least they're not outright trying to kill me… I wonder if there are other Defectors facing the same problem as I." Essentially having a conversation with herself as Inarie stands up from her chair and faces the slightly opened window. Looking out to the cold night of Kirigakure's streets with her rose pink eyes. Her mind churning over the information she just absorbed. Only an hour has passed, yet she's only learned a tidbit of information from what she can make out of this fictional story based on real events. Whoever wrote it clearly wanted to get a warning out.

After reading about Tyrsas, Inarie has a feeling that the other dragons are like that one. Tyrsas was a ruthless tyrant that was highly arrogant and sought to dominate the world. In a way, if the story holds truth, then Inarie is glad that Tyrsas got his snout smacked for his insolence. Inarie just wonders what took the dragon's so long to do anything, and either they simply didn't care or they were too busy with themselves to notice. After a few moments of silence as Inarie allows her mind to process the information. Then with a turn on her heel, Inarie picks up the next book from the stack and opened it on the desk. Where Inarie sits down on her chair and begins reading in silence.

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Many centuries ago, back before the Scarlet Kingdom was founded by the Uchiha. There was a dragon with blood red scales wreathed in fire that soaked the land in fury within his wake. A dragon with the power of a sun as he wrought discord upon the Land, creating chaos and war wherever his cursed eye spies on. This ruthless dragon is named Xeldris, previously known as The Red Emperor. Today Xeldris has the title of The Inferno Dragon. Xeldris invested both resources and even his own men to create the Scarlet Kingdom in the Land of Fire. Even leaked information about Kurama's resting place so that the Scarlet Emperor could obtain enormous power to contest against the Hyuuga.

Xeldris participated from behind the scenes in countless battles between the Scarlet Kingdom and the Hyuuga. Including the skirmishes between the Scarlet Kingdom with the Kazehana Empire. However, this all fell apart when the royal family was assassinated. So Xeldris was forced into hiding and stealing children from small villages to convert them into his Loyalists. Occasionally he will have to send out Loyalists to hunt down and kill traitors including those who switch allegiances between the dragon's. This of course caused tension between Xeldris and Byllaessa that eventually broke into a cold war for two years on 520 A.S. to 522 A.S.

When Tyrsas began his conquest over the world, Xeldris would steal Tyrsas's Loyalists and resources to keep Tyrsas weak. Additionally, Tyrsas was so self centered that he didn't notice his army's numbers were slightly thinning because only a small number were truly loyal to Tyrsas. This became evident when Tyrsas challenged the Sage Dragon, and half of Tyrsas's forces abandoned the tyrant to join Xeldris. There were some however, who chose to simply abandon their dragon lords. This angered Xeldris, and while Tyrsas took his remaining numbers, Xeldris extensively hunted down these traitors. Fortunately, Xeldris is not as thorough as he claimed, and majority of these Defectors are still out in the world as of today.

His Champion however, while not as benevolent as Tyrsas's Champion, is known to wrought fear amongst Xeldris's army. Using simple methods to bring traitors alive or leaders of either villages and/or clans before their army. Where this Champion will hold public executions while holding speeches to spread his fanaticism to Xeldris's followers. Then the heads that are removed from the shoulders are cleaned and hollowed out. To which they'll wear the skull of their enemies as trophies to inspire fear and dread to those who oppose Xeldris.

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Inarie had to tear her eyes away from the pages to rid the gruesome images flooding through her mind. Such barabaric methods is outlawed in many nation's, and Inarie is certain not even Jashinists would resort to such crude tactics to inspire fear. They might be bloodthirsty and ruthless in their own right, but at least they have the respect for the dead. The mention of red scales brings back memories of Sedrig, back when he rolled up his sleeves to reveal the patches of red scales and then emitting fire. There was no doubt in Inarie's mind that Sedrig's ancestor is Xeldris. Which means, if Xeldris has an inkling of Inarie's presence, and after hearing about this Champion. Then this warrants caution of the highest caliber.

Inarie leans back against her chair as she let's the book rest on the desk. Pondering on what to do, and if she has to face this champion then she'll have to be ready than ever for him. Some questioning to Sedrig would be helpful, but Inarie doubts that he'll say anything voluntarily unless someone deals significant pain to him. Perhaps even threaten with his belief, exposing his fear to their own benefit. Yet first and foremost, Inarie has to get stronger. She can't afford a repeat of what happened against Chigetsu. For the next time, Inarie wouldn't be walking away from it alive.

After gathering her wits together from reading how cruel the Inferno Dragon can be. Not so different than Tyrsas even, just strategizes better and can turn a whole kingdom over to his side. No big deal right? Inarie wishfully thought to herself. Learning about the Yoru history is becoming more intense by the second. Yet at the same time, Inarie doubts that a Champion would personally come to take out Inarie. Not unless something significant was to occur.

Closing the book and then setting it to the side. Inarie picks up another book that actually isn't terrifying or has any violent vibe to it. Even the book was thinner than most of the others she has read. So maybe she doesn't have to pour too much thought into this one?

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Byllaessa is perhaps the most gentle ancestral dragon compared to the rest of them. She's incredibly protective of her subjects and accepts any who wishes to find peace or simply to heal. Her domain is the sky, yet when Tyrsas came and took the sky from her. Byllaessa did not fight, for she feared that if she did then her Loyalists would be in danger. So she hid her subjects from the tyrants who fought one another like they're pretending to be gods.

More than once did Xeldris came and took her subjects to which Byllaessa fought fang and claw over to win them back. Sometimes she does win, other times her subjects are either killed or remain under Xeldris's influence. To this front, and with the events of Tyrsas attempting to conquer the world as all of the ancestral dragons make it a priority to slay the Defectors. Byllaessa gave the Defectors shelter and hid them from the other dragons and their Loyalists for centuries. Even to this day, majority of the Yoru whose ancestors ditched their place as the dragon's cult are safe from prejudice due to Byllaessa's blessing.

Unfortunately, Byllaessa never participated in the wars, and only gotten into a few skirmishes of various kinds. Rumor has it that Byllaessa once imprisoned Tyrsas out of rage because he threatened to kill her Loyalists unless they submitted to him. It's because of this rumor is what many believe to be the ultimate spark for Byllaessa's decision to hide her subjects and Defectors. Especially after the Dragon's Tooth battle where's majority of the known Defectors and Loyalists perished. To this day however, she has no claim on land, and any method of contacting her has been lost in the ages.'

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By this point, a folded parchment falls out of the book from the middle of the spine. Inarie's eyes immediately looked down at the loose piece of paper before taking it into her hand. Even from her thumb Inarie can feel that this page is old. So Inarie took extra care in opening the leaflet to see that it's a sketch. Some kind of whistle with an intricate pattern to it. She didn't really know what to make of it as any writing is faded or strangely scratched out in ink. Whatever it is, this page itself is old, and Inarie is surprised that it is holding together even as she holds it in her hands.

If anything, this Byllaessa dragon sounds like a potentially ally. It's something that Inarie will have to investigate later, and if anything could try to contact this dragon. Apparently these dragons can live for a long time. But from what Inarie gathers is that they're difficult to kill yet they still bleed. Anything that bleeds can be killed. Which means, she will have to slay a dragon, or dragons if it comes down to it. If it meant protecting her people and the Yoru clan from this nonsense then Inarie will see to it without hesitation.

Closing that book, Inarie picks up another that strikes a very vivid memory. Inarie picks up a book entitled as, The Leviathan. This was the same thing that her father was searching for with her mother. Apparently they found this Leviathan, but refused to give any concrete information on. It was also the last thing her father did before he passed away. Inarie doesn't know what it was that her father was after, but if the answer lies within here. Then it'll be worth it.

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Leviathan is perhaps the most mysterious and isolated dragon in the known world. He goes by the name of Ayphaen, and the sea is his home. However, he tends to delve deep into the sea that human bodies simply cannot withstand to avoid mortal contact. The only rare occasion is when he hunts, and sometimes a ship would be the target. Ayphaen was the source of sea serpents capsizing ships in the dead of the night. The kind that splits the hull in half and drags the ship into the abyss while devouring the crew.

Long ago, it is said that Leviathan once fought against Tyrsas, but ultimately Leviathan feigned defeat before he went into hiding. Into the sea where not even Tyrsas dared to dive for unlike Leviathan. Tyrsas couldn't breathe underwater, and certainly not able to withstand thousands of feet deep in pressure. Leviathan predicted that Tyrsas's own arrogance for power will be his own downfall. So Ayphaen simply chose to hid from the world in order to avoid Tyrsas. Only surfacing to hunt, and any mortal that's seen him were met with the jaws of death.

Unlike the other dragons, Ayphaen does not own any Loyalists under his command. He was heavily against bestowing power onto mortals because of their natural greed and lust for power. Yet despite this, rumor has it that Leviathan aided Byllaessa once or twice before. Whatever the aid was however, it's unknown other than Ayphaen keeps his presence hidden unless he chooses to resurface. Other than that, not much is known about the Leviathan.

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