A Dark Wind Rises[private, mission]

The events of the previous days were fresh in his mind, but at long last it was time. Vaati recieved permission just the day before allowing him to leave the confines of the village. He knew not what awaited him, but he would persevere. His destination was quite a distance away, far on the other side of the desert. The journey alone was a trial of sorts. It was too dangerous to travel by foot. For this, Vaati had commissioned three camels. One for him, One for supplies, and the third... for his escort. Yes, escort. It was the one condition that was given to him when he was given permission. Due to the recent events against the people of the hidden sand village, and the general danger in crossing the desert in general, the kazekage thought it best to send along a jonin to keep an eye on him. He went by the name of Yi wey. Vaati's gaze turned toward the jonin, only to find him busy with his finger in his left nostril in an attempt to clear it of some sort of gooey obstruction. It was clear to him that this journey would be void of any intelligent conversation. "Uragh" Vaati grunted as he heaved a bag across the back of the supply camel. She was a single humped camel named summer; quite blond, and almost albino in color. Both of the riding camels were males of the two humped variety, siblings, The light brown one was named Gobi while the darker browned one was named Janus.

Vaati looked at the small list he had prepared, and began checking off supplies, making sure everything was properly stored. The tallish jonin loomed over him.. "You ready, yet?" his demeanor told Vaati all he needed to know. He thought this mission was beneath him, and only was there per his orders. He would be no help, but that was fine. This was Vaati's pilgrimage, he didn't need nor want any help. How far the Kazekuro had fallen, he thought as the camels began their trek. the village gates soon fading across the horizon. His thoughts kept drifting to his clan's heritage. It was not long ago when their name was unknown, but their legacy was infamous. They were the ghosts of the desert, the demons of the sand. Their dominion was the desert, and none were able to stand against their power. That was the power Vaati had come to seek. The power that was so feared that their homeland was rumored to be possessed by demons and vengeful spirits. The haunted wasteland, it was called, and in at it's heart stood a temple so gargantuan that it was known as the Desert Colossus. Carved out of the cliff face, the Temple of the Goddess stood over 100 meters tall. the entrance, leading into her chest. However, little was it known that the relief didn't stop at ground level, on the contrary, over 100 meters of it were buried in the sand. Vaati, being the son of the former leader of the clan, was one of the few who was knowledgeable of this. 

Further and further they delved deeper and deeper into the heart of the desert until in the distance, Vaati could just make out what appeared to be a large wooden marker, adorned with a long red scarf at the top, fluttering in the breeze. They were almost there. His trials would soon begin. "Leave behind your escort. The trials are for you and you alone, my son." His mothers voice echoed in his ear. He knew this would come, but he was ready to face what lay ahead on his own strength. 

wc: 617

He looked out across the vast expanse. A single brown box lay next to the giant flag pole. Looking back to his escort, he dismounted from the furry camel. "I have to go the rest of the way, alone".  The jonin, initially confused, replied back. "I can't go against my orders. I have to remain with you.". Vaati was displeased. "Your orders were to accompany me as I complete my mission. You cannot follow, and doing so will endanger that mission. You are here to protect me from outside dangers." he stopped. "you cannot help me with these. the dangers are mine alone to face." The jonin leaped off his camel and approached his underling. "What was that....genin?" he asked. The condescending down was instantly recognizable. Vaati stood his ground and stared back. from the corner of his eye he could see a rumbling in the sand. Sand worms... Only indigenous in this area. This meant that he stood mere steps away from the river of sand. It's undercurrent hiding but inches below the sand above. "You will not survive" Vaati replied back as he began to mould chakra from within his chest. 

With a sudden burst, He shot out a volley of wind from his mouth, expelling the massive gale across the surface of the sand next to him. The wind blew away the soft dirt, leaving only a roaring river of sand flowing past  Suddenly, as if on cue, the remainder of the sand began to sink into the river, clearly defining it's borders.  "What the..." The jonin replied, clearly unfamiliar with the terrain. It did not surprise Vaati. Not many people had ever come out this far into the wasteland.....and survived. The river began to shutter and moments later a large green maw dove out from the river at least twenty feet, before descending back down into the golden abyss. It's mouth large enough to easily swallow a man whole, while it's body appeared to measure out at least 30 meters in length. "And that's a small one..." Vaati added. "This place is not for you. So I implore you once more to stay here.". It took a moment for the jonin to register what Vaati had just said. "yeah...yeah.. I think you're right" He replied, still in bewilderment over what he had just witnessed. Vaati breathed as sigh of relief "Well that's been taken care of" he sighed. 

Looking over the vast expanse, Vaati knew his first trial was now underway. He needed to cross, however, just a single vibration across the flowing sand would send one of those creatures his way. His mind sent to work to figure out the puzzle. His first thought was to use water walking to cross safely, however the sand was moving too fast, the current alone wouldn't allow his chakra to attach to the grains. No, should he attempt that, he would instantly be drug below. Across the ravine, Vaati could view another guidepost. It's red cloth flapping across the wind. The wind? The Wind! That was it. Mastery of wind was what he needed. Thinking to his innate skills, Vaati derived exactly what he needed to accomplish. It would be dangerous, and the sandworms would be hot on his tail, he needed speed and height for this to succeed. Quickly he ran up the guidepost of his right, quickly reaching the pinnacle of it's 30 foot height. His eyes approximated the distance between himself and the other guidepost. He would need 3... No, 4 bursts to cross the expanse. With a sudden leap out, vaati would begin his strategy. The angle was important, he would soon be flying blind. Too steep of an angle and he would need to expel more chakra to cross, Too shallow of an angle, and he would be propelled directly into the sand before he could get off another burst. He flipped in the air, allowing his head to be facing behind him. pulling in a breath of air, Vaati quickly expelled the gale, it's power propelling him toward the opposite shore, however, just as it touched the river, A sandworm dove out, lunging out looking for it's prey. He couldn't be distracted, by it... Once again he expelled out another burst of air, And another, Each burst sending his body back skyward, bouncing him across on a cushion of air. One more should do it, he would think as multiple sandworms began erupting out of the ground. His burst were working, however they also gave the worms both his direction, and speed as one leaped out from the ground moments before he could fire his next volley. thinking fast, vaati fired his volley directly down at the worm, sending his body directly up, narrowly causing the worm to miss. Vaati grabbed two kunai from within his cloak, using them for grip, stabbed them on the sandworm's back, as he descended. Riding the creature as it's body began to dive back down toward the opposite shore. With a quick leap from it's body,Vaati landed safely a three feet away from the guidepost. Returning the kunai to his cloak he looked out. One trial down, two to go... 

wc: 868
twc: 1,485

looking out into the sandy abyss, Vaati could see a guide post in the distance and another even further away. The haunted wasteland, a desolate area not only void of life but inescapable chasm of sand designed to ensnare and trap any who venture into it's borders. It's first line of defence, Vaati had already overcome. The river of sand, a quickly flowing river of quicksand inhabited by vicious sandworms. Just one step in the wrong place could easily cost one his life. Now, Vaati had to cross the desert of mystery. The danger here was no less then before. Slowly moving forward, Vaati's vision began to become obsured as grains of sand began to swirl around him, very quickly covering him and all he could see in a giant sandstorm. 

Quickly, Vaati grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around his face and nose, blocking the sand from being breathed in. The guideposts he could clearly see were now obscured, with just the closest being visible from him about 30 yards away. Squinting through the grains passing by his eyelids, Vaati slowed his pace down, keeping his eyes fixed on the post with every step. This sandstorm was unnatural. He needed to watch those posts closely. One lapse in his attention would cause him to be lost. He was familiar with this genjutsu, but he also knew that it was pointless to release. The jutsu was being cast on the wind along with the sand, releasing it would only tighten it's hold upon him by giving him a false sense of security. 

One step at a time, Vaati began to traverse the desert. He could feel the pull on his mind, trying to divert him from the path ahead of him. He counted down the guideposts as he passed them. One, Two, Twenty, thirty, seventy... The numbers alone taking their toll as he attempted to keep his concentration. Finally as he reached the One hundredth pole, the storm suddenly died. He had made it... Two down, one trial to go. 

wc:340
twc: 1,825

He glared up at the stone ruins. a single wooden ladder was fastened to the stones using rope, that might have at one time been pristine, had suffered many years of torment from the dry desolate climate of the wastelands. His eyes peered to the top of the structure. Relatively speaking, the structure wasn't too tall. Only a few stories tall. It was tall enough, however, to loom rise above the seven guideposts that surrounded it, doubling their height to approx twenty meters.  

Taking his time and reserving his strength, the small child slowly ascended up the ladder. His cloak gently flowing behind him, dancing in the wind. The coarse grit of the stones were eroded under hundreds of years under the desert wind. The grains of wood creaked and groaned under his weight. Vaati made no mistake in thinking that if he was any older and any heaver the rotted wood wouldn't be able to support his weight. He was about half way up the structure, tiny spliters of debris and dry rotten fibers of rope shattering into dust below him before blending into the sandy air. Finally, the small boy pulled himself up to the top of the tower.

Glaring ahead, Vaati saw a small stone shrine. In the center of the shrine stood a winged figure, with only a single eye for it's body. Immediately the kazekuro child recognized the motif. It was the symbol of his clan. A black eye with bat-like wings. Adorning the dusty shrine were two spheres, caked underneath a dust layer created by years of sand. The child approched them, his hand rasing up, lightly brushing past the orb. Without warning the orb suddenly jerked. A thin crack began to spread from the contact point, encircling the sphere before suddenly shattering the dust surounding it revealing a the crystaline orb known to the Kazekuro as a moon pearl. Not daring to touch the other orb yet, the inquisitive child began to inspect the shrine, and quickly discovered a engraving upon it's base. "When the spiraling wind meets the gale of darkness the spectre of truth will show the way. Only those fleet of foot who dare follow can escape the desert's hunger"  

The child looked back at the shrine. "Spiraling wind" he spoke aloud, lightly touching the other orb, causing it to open up like the other. Both orbs were crystal clear. Taking his right hand, he placed it on an orb. "URAGH!" he gasped as the orb began to suck the chakra from within him out. the orb itself swirling around in a green light. Vaati tried to remove his hand, but found that he held him fast. "it is quickly draining my chakra, if I dont do anything soon it will consume all I have left. " he thought. Looking quickly, the only thing he could see was the other orb. Seeing no other option, he slammed his other hand on the orb. "AHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed out, as the other orb began to fill up as well, this time turning dark purple. Suddenly Vaati was expelled back as the shrine began to rumble, falling backwards onto the floor. Propping himself on his elbows he looked at the shrine as it jolted. The chakra contained within the two orbs began to violently spasm outwards, changing in structure from crystalballs to flames of pure chakra. The eye of the statue suddenly became lit and spun around. With a sudden flash, a bolt of energy shot out from the eye out into the distance onto a curtain made of sand. The purple and green flames suddenly rose into the air and began to break apart into smaller flames, getting sucked into the beam, encircling it and orbiting around, before being drawn into the point of impact. A whistle began to sing across the air, increasing pitch as the curtain absorbed the energy, before exploding outwards in a giant flash. Quickly, Vaati covered his eyes while looking away, as the intense light became more overpowering then the sun before quickly fading away. 

Suddenly silence blanket the area. "Wha..." Vaati began to ask as he looked up from his cloak. Suddenly before him hovered a hooded figure, cloaked in a tattered robe. only two yellow eyes gleamed at him from underneathe the hood. in one hand it held a single lanturn, now containing the swirling essence of the flames. Vaati could not see any feet below the cloak, it appeared to be an apperition of some sort. The creature suddenly began to speak, however no mouth could be made out on the creature. "I'll be your guide on the way, but coming back, I won't play. I'll show you the only way to go, so follow me and don't be slow!"

As the last words were spoken the ghost began to float away, falling down the tower, and heading out into the desert, Quickly Vaati leaped to his feet, placing chakra upon his soles he ran down the sides of the tower and out chasing the ghost. The sandstorm once again surrounded him. The ghost stopped, and suddenly began to spin. "If you chase a mirage, the desert will swallow you. Only one path is true!" suddenly the one ghost split into three separate figures and began to move away. Quickly Vaati scanned them. Each was slightly different. The left one had an extra zig-zag on his robe, the middle's lanturn was only glowing green. The right ghost was the correct one. Dashing off ahead of him he quickly caught back up.  Two more times the ghost tried to trip him up, seperating into four ghosts, and then five.  Each time Vaati observed the differences and quickly dashed off toward the correct one. The sandstorm suddenly grew heavy, as he followed, just bearly seeing the 2 guideposts to his side as he ran inside of them. The ghostly figure disappearing into the storm.  

Without warning the storm fell, and Vaati found himself staring at the giant statue of the dessert goddess. He was home. Wisps of sand began to swirl ahead of him, taking the shape and form of others of his clan, cloaked in similar garments to his own.. In the center, his mother. A small tear welled up in his eye. "M-mom" he cried as he dash to embrace her. she held him tight and kneeled down to him, looking him in the eye. "Well done, my son" her words of praise echoed through him as he felt a warmth he hadn't felt for a long time.

The group walked into the temple of the goddess. Vaati, felt a wave of nostalgia come over him as he walked through the temple. The 5 heads including his mother took their places around a central alter, Vaati was motioned to the center. He quickly moved there, assuming he knew what was coming next. His mother began an incantation, echoed by the other clan heads. A swirl of dark energy began to encircle the child in a black smoke, while a wisp of wind began to spin around him in the other direction. The power flowing into each and every pore of his body. Vaati began to scream out as the jutsu impaled itself inside of him, forceing itself into his pathways and up the inhibition gates against the current. Then just as they reached his heart it solidified. The child roared out in agony. The chakra within him now expeling out in all directions, blasting back the 5 heads. Vaati fell to the floor, uncontiousous. His bloodright had been awakened. Walking over to the small child, his mother picked him up in her arms. She exchanged silent glances at the other heads who quietly bowed their understanding and left. She would send him back to the village using her own powers, when he awoke, he would be back in his own bed. His journey fulfilled.

wc: 1319
twc:3144