Dragon Clan Letter - #16
I must take my leave of you for now, my kinsmen.
Please do not think that I am abandoning you in our hour of greatest need. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though it may seem that I desert you now, I do only what I must to ensure that we may pass on the legacy of the Dragon Clan to our own children one day.
Not so long ago, I sensed a great shift in the balance of the elements. It was a sensation unlike anything I had ever known. This world had been joined by something from beyond the mortal realm, a force more powerful than any I had ever encountered. With our war with the Phoenix, such a feeling should have alarmed me. But instead I felt only curiosity.
Over the ensuing weeks, this curiosity became overwhelming. I set out to find the truth behind the enigma. A Dragon could do no less. The search was not difficult; it was as if I was being led to my destination. In a very short time, I found myself at the Vigilant Keep of the Monkey Clan. There, I found Naka Tokei, the Grand Master of the Elements.
"Satsu," he smiled when we met. "I have been waiting for you."
The titles of Naka and Grand Master have long been the domain of our enemies in the Phoenix Clan. But there is no denying that Tokei is truly a master of the elements. His presence alone is sufficient proof to even the most doubtful mind. Such as my own.
I spoke with Tokei-sama well into the night. When morning came, I found myself sitting with him atop the Dragon mountains as the sun rose, far from where we had been only a short time ago. I was weeping, distraught over a half-remembered vision he had shown me. Even now, I can remember only the barest element of it: the Dragon Clan in ruins, destroyed by a foe beyond redemption, a darkness from our deepest past set to dominate the future. This foe came not from outside the Empire, but from deep within. The more we struggled against it, the more powerful it became, until ultimately its dark web of power spread across the entire Empire.
"It does not have to be thus," he said softly. "You have the power to change it."
Now my quest begins. I abandon you in the face of a powerful enemy only to prevent our demise at the hands of another. I pray that my actions do not worsen the fate I have been shown. I cannot tell you more of my quest, for knowledge of the future is a burden I would spare each of you.
I will not fail you, my brothers and sisters.
-Togashi Satsu