KAMI - PROLOGUE
A mist clung to the air, thick and heavy, licking at the mossy boughs of the trees and shimmering on the dewy grass. Over the green pond hung a darkness thicker than the surrounding night, a shapeless blot in the air. Lightning flashed through the forest. A rumble of thunder shuddered after it, bringing with it three shady figures. They lurked out of the trees as though carried on the low wind. They swayed and swirled before the pond, as fluid as the shadow. They lowered themselves before it, as though bowing.
“Master,” came a whisper, a breath on the wind, “We have come. Is it time?”
“Yes,” said the shadow over the pond, shimmering and stretching, “I am close now. Only one barrier remains. You understand what needs to be done?”
The three figures bowed their heads.
“Then go,” the shadow commanded, “If you succeed, then you know the reward that awaits you. But…if you should fail…”
“We shall not fail you, Master,” said one of the minions, and with a fetid breeze the three were swept away, dissolving into the night.
The shadow was alone once again. It slowly rose to take its place in the shade of a tree’s canopy. And there it stayed.
Waiting.
“Master,” came a whisper, a breath on the wind, “We have come. Is it time?”
“Yes,” said the shadow over the pond, shimmering and stretching, “I am close now. Only one barrier remains. You understand what needs to be done?”
The three figures bowed their heads.
“Then go,” the shadow commanded, “If you succeed, then you know the reward that awaits you. But…if you should fail…”
“We shall not fail you, Master,” said one of the minions, and with a fetid breeze the three were swept away, dissolving into the night.
The shadow was alone once again. It slowly rose to take its place in the shade of a tree’s canopy. And there it stayed.
Waiting.