"Cycle of Balance - Prologue" by Dabao ´The Monkey´ Jia

        A sliver of light drifted through the thick smoke into an old cave. The Light traveled through the tunnel, past the dancing shadows of time long past until it could go no further, and waited…and waited…and waited. It waited for four moons yet did not notice. Time did not exist where time was not needed and to the world, four moons was just another cycle. A dim flicker of ghostly light played gently ahead, urging the Sliver onward. Yet It paused. A feeling arose momentarily but was quickly stemmed. It proceeded onward. Feet took shape first from the misty light, then the arms, the body, and finally, the head. The face remained clouded. With each step taken, the Figure became more prominent and seemed to come first into existence. The entrance was reached at last.

        "You have come"


        "Yes"


        "You regret this"


        "Ye-es"


        “That is good. You have truly become Tsinoi.”

        A flash of brilliant light roared through the night but there was no sound and it was noticed only by the Figure. And the Figure stood alone, in a dark empty room. The Other, didn’t exist…anymore…

        A lone survivor lay huddled under a screen of foliage, trembling in fear.


        Four pairs of small disks shimmered along the foliage of the ground. The first was white, the second was green, the third was red, and the last was black. The first disks, silvery white, were more oval, half open and half closed, shining in the moonlight and glowing with brilliance. The second, jade green, were fully open, yet still seeming flourish under a small canopy of trees. The third, blood red, horrible and painful to behold seemed both open and closed at once. This one was the most dangerous Brother, its taint spreading, like a disease, with the burden of the falling of many. But the last, ebony black, showing age and weakness, barely a slit, is the most feared yet some still welcoming it…as a friend. Then as they came to the foliage, they halted. And as one, the disks raised their heads darting in both directions. For a brief moment, the disks flashed and revealed themselves as what they were…eyes. Seeming to understand each other and working together like none other can, the Brothers continued along.


        The man shifted deeper into the foliage, arms wrapping tighter around a cloth-wrapped bundle, and sighed. This sigh was a sigh of relief, pain, confusion and wariness. Even though all seemed safe, the man did not move. He waited, and waited, and waited. He waited four hours. One hour for each pair of disks, for each disk came and went but never truly left and always left a trace. But four hours was the only time when it was safe. So four hours past, the man staggered up and took the winding path the four Brothers took. A muffled crackle of twigs sounded with each step he took, but that did not matter much anymore. They were already aware of his presence. He did not want to be left behind. They were danger in of themselves, but they also protected against much of the other dangers, and the others were not so forgiving and forgetting.


        He would drop the bundle at the next friendly town and then find somewhere to sleep. This task was too much for a forgotten one like himself. He did not have long anyway. He would have killed the bundle a long time ago, a quick and precise slice through the neck, but he could not, however dangerous this precious bundle might be, even though at first it seemed merely an innocent speck…well worth the payment he received in return. That was a first time he ever hesitated to kill, even in cold blood. He even killed all his partners, to get the all the gold of course. Maybe if he did not kill them…no, he would have eventually, being the murderer he is. He pitied the next who would have to continue from where he left off. Or maybe when this “package” grew up, it would have to take the burden. Yes, he knew what it was. He laughed out loud. The first time in weeks. A wonder why the mysterious character who hired him needed such an insignificant thing. It could not even travel about yet. It was willing to pay the highest lump sum he had ever laid eyes on as well.

        Eventually, the man got to a small, wooden gate. He put the bundle down, moaned, and fell.