• Screams of pain and despair fill a small village. Bodies lay prostrate on the ground and buildings remain enflamed. All of which are the result of a relentless attack. The attacker was a dark warlord, Minova. Minova was banished to the underworld by the king of Seles, King Ronoh. Two years later, Minova has returned. He has escaped from the depths of the underworld and seeks revenge on Ronoh for the time spent in the pit. “I swear, when I find Ronoh, he will pay in ten fold!” announced the evil one.

    Meanwhile…

    The great King Ronoh sits upon his throne during a conference between representatives of neighboring towns. A voice came from the group, “What are we going to do, sire? Minova will be here in a weeks time.” “Then we have less than that to strengthen our defenses, I just need to figure out how,” the king thought to himself. The conference went on for quite some time. Finally a decision was reached. They would contact a certain four nations whom were well known for their highly skilled warriors. So in the morning, king Ronoh was to write a message to the nations requesting help. As dawn approached, the king had written the messages. They stated; “We are in a great time of need and I humbly request your assistance. Unfortunately, we are unable to hire a full army due to a current loss of funds. So, I King Ronoh, ask you to send us only a mere handful of your warriors. We need your undying trust to send us warriors to help defend the capital. I beg of you, take this plea for help to heart and lend us your assistance.” by noon, the messengers had completed their deliveries to the nations. The nations received the messages and decided to answer the king’s call. The nations had sent but only one warrior from each. Although, these were the most exceptional of warriors and their skills had never been matched.

    From the nation of Azura came Xander the mercenary. He had battle skill like no other, as well as keen speed and agility.
    The next warrior came from the samurai village in Feltz. Musashi was skilled in the art of bushido. He had the utmost precision in his blade. Musashi could draw, slash, and sheath his sword in the blink of an eye.
    Nissasa of the Jinzo Forrest would follow. Though not much is known about the dragon clan residing there, it is assured that she is a master of the shadows and an expert in the art of stealth. She is a renowned assassin indeed.
    Finally comes Sussoloc the giant. He resides in the Erips Mountain region. Sussoloc was a towering ten feet tall and wielded an ax, the blade being about the size of his upper body. He as well had unmatchable strength.

    They had all set out on their quests to the castle. Three days later they arrive at the capital of Seles. Upon entering the capital the notice one another and introduce themselves respectively. Sussoloc, with his deep and powerful voice, says, “I am Sussoloc of the Erips Mountains.” “I’m Musashi of Feltz’s samurai village,” announces Musashi. Xander nods his head while simply stating, “Xander of Azura.” Finally, Nissasa steps up, “I am Nissasa.” “What, your too good to tell us where your from?” says Sussoloc, slightly frustrated. “No, I just wasn’t aware I was required to give my life story,” she responds. Xander cuts in, “Calm down both of you, where we’re from doesn’t matter right now. We are here for the same reason; we should be focused on where we are going instead. So, can we please just go talk to the king now.” “What did you do that for?” says Musashi aside to Xander. “Yeah, I know. I was regretting it as I was saying it. She totally would had taken him though,” Xander replies as they both chuckled. The four enter the castle and follow a long hall to the throne room.

    After a short while, the whole story of Minova and his cruel actions were revealed to the warriors. They all agreed and assured the king that they would have no problem in disposing of the madman. Though very skeptical of only the four, King Ronoh devised a plan for them to go to the next town to head off the rampaging tyrant. The fighters agreed on the plan and would leave the next morning.

    After a night’s rest, the four warriors ventured out once again, together this time, on a journey to a common place. By dusk they had reached the small town and set up posts to watch for their “guest”. Later that evening, something had been noticed in the distance. It was definitely something moving, and it was closing in fast. Suddenly, a small house burst into flames and the fighters knew. Luckily, the village was evacuated to prevent pointless casualties. “Minova is here!” shouted Xander. Sussoloc steps up to Xander’s side and says, “Hmph… if that is the extent of the sorcery the warlord has to offer, then I sure hope he can fight well. He’d better or I’ll just rip him apart with my bare hands.” “If you think you can get to him before me, I’ll just slice his head clean off,” said Musashi as he walked up. Out of the shadows came Nissasa, “Don’t make me laugh, I could kill him from here.” “Well miss high and mighty, why don’t you do it then,” said Xander with a smirk. “Yeah right, then why are we all here if you could do it yourself,” said Musashi. Sussoloc cut in, “Will you guys shut your mouths and look. He’s almost here.”

    Finally their time was upon them, their time of action. The one thing that had brought them so far from home was right in front of them. Minova stood mere feet away examining the chosen four. They glared back with flames of anger burning deep within their eyes. The four, stood there thinking of the horrible things this one man, no, one demon had done. Suddenly the deadly silence was broken by the laugh of Minova. Pointing, he said, “You…you four were all that sad excuse for a king could muster up to save his pitiful life. My brother once again underestimates me. You four must not value your lives. I’ll make quick work of you here and put an end to that worthless man they all praised and cherished. The men and woman stood there silent until Xander spoke out, “Heh… I hate to break it to you but I could care less about the king. I was just looking for a good fight.” “Now that’s probably the best thing I’ve heard come from any of your mouths all day” said Sussoloc. As the four laughed, Minova interrupted, “I have to hand it to you, you are a cocky bunch. Just don’t confuse you bravery with foolishness. This is not your fight.” “It wasn’t the fight of all those people who were slaughtered by your hand, but they still died!” Musashi shouted angrily. Nissasa stepped in, “Exactly, this is our fight! You made this our fight when you decided to destroy innocent villages! We are not just some fighters. We are avengers of those who were robbed of their lives! We are your death dealers here to put and end to your reign of terror!” “Well said assassin, I shall surely enjoy watching your people die as well. Unfortunately you’re wrong. The only death to be dealt here will be by my hands,” Minova said calmly. “I am on of the last of my people. I returned home to find it in ruin!” she replied back. “Ah, I see I have already visited your home. Well I can’t say I blame you for being here, but surely you do not wish to throw your life away just as the rest did,” Minova said chuckling. “I’d watch what I say if I were you, we are all here for a reason. We have come to punish you for what you’ve done, stop what you are doing, and prevent what you will do. You will die here, make no mistake, and with you so end your ambitions,” Xander reassured. “There’s that confidence again, boy. We shall see how long it lasts,” Minova said with a lethal look in his eyes

    Minova raised one hand, almost pointing, but with his wrist still limp. Then, in an instant, he flicked his wrist upward. A fissure raced across the ground in the blink on an eye, and an explosion roared where the warriors stood. As the smoke and dust filled the air, the evil one said, “I warned you not to get caught up in your foolishness. Your arrogance was the death of you.” Just then he notices a large figure that seemed to be getting closer. Sussoloc burst from the cloud of smoke with a swing of his large axe. As Minova swiftly dodged it, Xander came down with a slash of his broad sword. Minova stepped aside and Xander followed through with a spinning slash, catching the evil one off guard. As he stumbled back, Musashi came in with a swift slash to the torso of the tyrant, cutting deep into his armor. Just as Nissasa came in with what would be a kick from the sky, Minova snapped up, grabbed Nissasa by the leg, and threw her into the others. As the four got back up to their feet, Minova announced, “Well it would seem I underestimated you. Looks like it’s time I stop playing around.” He rushed into the center of the unexpected warriors and, with some sorcery, pushed the four warriors into separate directions as if to deal with them one by one. First starting with Xander, “Where is your chivalry and courage now? What do you have left when your life is nothing more than a thread waiting to be cut?” Xander’s eyes slowly shut as Minova dropped him in that spot. Then he made his way Nissasa and spoke some more. “You fail just as the rest of your clan did, and even easier. You too have nothing left to live for, so far be it for me to not be merciful and put you out of your pain and misery.” The deep-voiced words rang in Nissasa’s ears. Xander had regained consciousness only to bare witness to Minova about to strike down his comrade.

    Just then Xander had noticed Sussoloc sneaking up behind Minova, once again equipped with his large axe. He also noticed one of Nissasa’s swords. Xander rose to his feet, curious of where Musashi went, and picked up the sword. As Minova stood over Nissasa, Sussoloc swung his massive axe at him. Minova, with his bare hand, ceased the axe’s motion by the blade and disarmed Sussoloc of it. Just then, Xander ran Minova through the back with the short sword. Shocked, Minova paused, “You were dead!” Xander replied with a smirk, “I guess it was just all that foolish courage and chivalry that kept me going.” Nissasa took this opportunity to draw her other sword and stabbed Minova through the chest. As Minova began to fall to the ground, Sussoloc, with his massive hands, grabbed Minova around the midsection. As Sussoloc lifted Minova over his head, squeezing tightly, the faint sound of cracking bones could be heard. As Minova struggled for air, faint and swift footsteps could be heard. The others notice Musashi dashing out towards the group. Musashi leapt into the air, and with a flash of his sword, cut clean through the tyrant’s neck detaching the head from the body. With the final blow dealt, Minova had fallen. The quest was complete, villages had been saved, and many lives were spared.

    The four warriors returned to the king’s domain with new of success. With the threat vanquished, King Ronoh felt a great burden had been lifted because he knew he was responsible for the Warlord’s hatred and anger that plagued the lost towns. With all said and done, Xander, Musashi, and Sussoloc had prepared for their journeys home. King Ronoh had heard of Nissasa’s village being attacked. The king offered sanctuary for the warrior, but she respectfully declined. She knew her people would be awaiting her arrival and could use the extra help, and set out as well.

    Thus the four warriors departed once more, separated again. The great king Ronoh, along with his people continued to live their threat-free lives, forever passing on the tail of The Four Warriors.