• Arcadian Lullaby
    Chapter 1: The beginning

    Many years ago, during the feudal era, a land called Arcadia flourished with mystical beings that lived alongside humans. There are many different kinds of demons, just like there a different people, like you and I. Fox demons, are only one of many other demons in the world of Arcadia.

    Fox demons appear to be almost exactly like humans except they have fox ears and a fox tail. Some fox demons have nine tails. These fox demons are known as Kitsune. There are very few Kitsune in Arcadia. Only one blood line is known for the Kitsune trait. This blood line is known as the Akimory family.

    Seventeen years ago, a young girl was born to the Akimory family. Her mother died shortly after giving birth. The infant was very weak after birth and very close to death, so her father used every bit of magic he had to seal the solar goddess inside their newborn child. He died shortly after the seal, but he managed to save their baby. Before he passed, he left a note that was to be given to her at the age of seventeen. On the back of the note was the name of their baby, “Rayne Akimory”.

    Rayne shared traits of both her mother and her father. She had her mother’s snowy white hair and her father’s deep, crystal blue eyes. She also inherited her mother’s nine tails, which were lightly tipped red at the end of each one. Her ears looked more like her father’s, they were also white.

    Seventeen years later, her day started out like any other normal day in her village. She made some breakfast and did her daily chores. After she finished with her tasks, she made her way to the village inn. The inn was very simple looking; it was a fairly old style looking inn, made of bamboo wood. It had been constructed by Rayne’s father and after he died, the responsibilities of the inn were passed down to Rayne. Rayne was going to manage the inn for the day. When Rayne got to the inn, she didn’t hear anything. This seemed strange to her, normally the inn was buzzing with people, so she slowly opened the door.

    A light came on as her friends and family jumped out from behind the bar, then yelled to her “Happy birthday Rayne!” Rayne looked confused for a moment, but soon after remembered that today was the day she would be turning seventeen. She smiled and laughed as her best friend Onryou ran over to her and gave her a hug.

    Onryou had white hair similar to Rayne’s, but her hair was tied up in a spiky ponytail with black leather lace. The lace had a big red bead on it; inside the bead was a creamy white feather. Onryou had ruby red eyes that always seemed to sparkle with excitement. She had orange fox ears that were tipped white; her fox tail looked the same.

    “So Rayne, what do you think of your party”? Rayne, still smiling said, “It’s awesome Ari”. (Ari is Onryous’s nick name) Ari smiled. “Good, because I was up all night trying to get everything ready in time,” Ari said, as she took Rayne’s hand and led her to the bar where a cake was sitting on the bar top. Ari grinned, “Every one helped to make this for you. It was a last minute thing, so it’s not perfect, but I hope you like it.”

    “Thank you Ari, and thanks to all of you that came here today,” Rayne said in a cheerful voice. The inhabitants of the inn seemed to glow with happiness as Rayne thanked them all. Ari walked to the kitchen and opened the knife cabinet. She took out the cutting knife and walked back over to Rayne.

    “So what do you say, let’s cut this cake and let the party start.” Rayne laughed a bit and smiled at Ari then took the knife as Ari handed it to her. She cut the cake and Ari started putting slices on plates so everyone could get a piece. After everyone had their cake, people started giving Rayne her birthday gifts.

    The last person that came up to her was a man whose face was hidden under a dark brown hat. He was wearing a long trench coat that was the same color as his hat. He reached into his pocket and handed her a small piece of parchment. Rayne looked a bit confused as she slowly reached out and accepted his gift. The man leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Don’t open this until you get home.” Without another word the man turned and walked out of the inn.

    Rayne looked down at the tattered piece of parchment, as many questions circled through her mind. She shook her head for a moment and looked around the room for Ari. She kept looking till she saw Ari talking with Yoshi. Yoshi had been a friend of Rayne’s since they were kids.

    Rayne got up and walked over to Ari. Ari looked at Rayne and smiled. “What’s up Rayne? You look upset.” Rayne shook her head once more. “No I’m ok, but I need to go home for the night. I have things to do in the morning.” Ari smiled but looked somewhat sad that Rayne was leaving the party. Rayne hugged Ari and Yoshi before heading home.

    Once Rayne got home, she walked into her room and sat on her bed mat. She grabbed the note out of her Kimono pocket. She unfolded it and started to read. The note explained the blood line of the kitsune and where her mother and father were born. The note also explained that there would be a blood moon or an eclipse in a month. At the bottom of the note was a map to a city Rayne had never heard of before. Rayne was even more confused after reading the note. She decided to look for the answer to the questions she had about this note she held in her hand.

    She got off her bed and grabbed the bag sitting on the desk beside her, and then she put a few changes of clothes into it. She walked out of her room and into the kitchen and made a small pack of food and set it in the bag as well, then tied the bag shut. A moment later a knock came upon the front door.

    Rayne opened the door and looked at Ari a bit surprised that she came here at such a late hour. Rayne invited Ari in, then they both sat down on the couch. Rayne looked at Ari and asked, “So why did you stop by so late Ari?” Ari looked down for a moment then looked back up at Rayne. “I just wanted to see if you were ok after you walking out on your party so early.” Rayne smiled at Ari. “I’m ok, but…” Ari looked at Rayne a bit worried. “What is it Rayne?” A moment of silence came upon the room. “I’m leaving, I’m leaving the village. There are questions I need answers to, and those answers don’t lie in this village. “ The room became still once more as a sad expression befell Ari’s face, she looked down for a moment then looked back up with passion in her eyes. “Then I’m coming with you!” Rayne smiled. “I know nothing I say is going to stop you from coming with me, so go get a bag packed and meet me at the village gates.” Ari smiled with great happiness and left for her house to pack.

    After Ari left Rayne grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder and walked out of her house and started to walk to the village gates. Once she got to the gates she sat down and waited for Ari to show up. About an hour later Ari showed up at the gate with a pack of things for the trip. Rayne stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder and took Ari’s hand. “We can stop in the next town to rest and buy more supplies.” Ari smiled back. “I can’t wait to see what we run into on this trip.” Ari said in a very excited tone. Rayne laughed, “Slow down Ari, it’s only the start of our trip and you’re already excited.” Ari giggled, “Let’s get going.” Rayne and Ari pushed open the gates and started the adventure of a life time.