Post by Tensei Kaori on Jul 26, 2009 19:54:20 GMT -5
Long ago, before Shinobi villages or even the five great countries, monsters walked the land.
They weren't really monsters, of course, though many people referred to them as such. They were, in reality, creatures now known only in myth and legend: creatures such as tanuki, zashiki-warashi, and even tengu. Some were great and powerful, others mere annoyances, and still more were friends of humanity, aiding them in protecting their homes and families from being destroyed by the friendly creatures' more violent cousins. It was these creatures who, when all seemed lost for certain, aided humanity in creating the Five Great Crystals in the hope of giving mankind the ability to defend themselves. Each Crystal was to channel the power of one of the Five Elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. What no one counted on, though, was that the Crystals did more than that for which they were created: the supernatural power they channeled somehow – for reasons still unknown – also banished the creatures, both enemies of humanity and the very allies who had helped make the Crystals themselves, from the mortal plane.
Their single unifying factor – the common threat they all faced – gone, mankind turned for a time to studying the crystals and learning to master the power they gave. Soon, however, without a common threat to fight, they did what humans do best: they turned on each other.
War ravaged the continent for long years, killing countless people even as it drove the survivors to push their skills to new heights. Soon things were as bad as the massive destruction that had prompted the creation of the Crystals in the first place, and worse in some ways: from the power of the five elemental Crystals had risen the Five Great Countries, leading to organized military powers where there had once been village militias and city guards. At last, as the situation spiraled out of control, a select few took a stand to stop the senseless bloodshed for good. Coming together in a place controlled by no country, these shinobi – representing each of the Five Countries – tapped the power of the Elemental Crystals and combined it with their own abilities, creating the Focus Crystal.
This sixth relic sealed the power of the Five Elemental Crystals, leaving them active but unable to touch the world. The armies stripped of their inhuman power, the wars ceased... for a time. Contact with the crystals had awoken within mankind their own innate ability to use and control Chakra, and the countries' military forces withdrew to their own strongholds to learn this new, “Safer” power. What humanity failed to realize, however, is that not all of the Mythics were sealed away with the creation of the Focus Crystal: many chose to stay, or simply weren't pulled through to the other side for various reasons. Perfect examples of this would be the great Tailed Beasts themselves, who would come to figure so prominently in the world of shinobi.
That brings us to the time of the First Hokage: as the Five Countries have finally become proficient with the usage of Chakra, wars have once again swept across the line. The countries are crumbling, and the five grand shinobi villages that had once stood in each of the countries were little more than ruins, their residents scattered into warring clans that rampaged across the countryside. It was the First Hokage who put a stop to these wars, and founded Hidden Leaf Village as it is known today. Meanwhile, the creatures who were both mankind's greatest danger and closest ally, have faded into little more than myth.
They weren't really monsters, of course, though many people referred to them as such. They were, in reality, creatures now known only in myth and legend: creatures such as tanuki, zashiki-warashi, and even tengu. Some were great and powerful, others mere annoyances, and still more were friends of humanity, aiding them in protecting their homes and families from being destroyed by the friendly creatures' more violent cousins. It was these creatures who, when all seemed lost for certain, aided humanity in creating the Five Great Crystals in the hope of giving mankind the ability to defend themselves. Each Crystal was to channel the power of one of the Five Elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. What no one counted on, though, was that the Crystals did more than that for which they were created: the supernatural power they channeled somehow – for reasons still unknown – also banished the creatures, both enemies of humanity and the very allies who had helped make the Crystals themselves, from the mortal plane.
Their single unifying factor – the common threat they all faced – gone, mankind turned for a time to studying the crystals and learning to master the power they gave. Soon, however, without a common threat to fight, they did what humans do best: they turned on each other.
War ravaged the continent for long years, killing countless people even as it drove the survivors to push their skills to new heights. Soon things were as bad as the massive destruction that had prompted the creation of the Crystals in the first place, and worse in some ways: from the power of the five elemental Crystals had risen the Five Great Countries, leading to organized military powers where there had once been village militias and city guards. At last, as the situation spiraled out of control, a select few took a stand to stop the senseless bloodshed for good. Coming together in a place controlled by no country, these shinobi – representing each of the Five Countries – tapped the power of the Elemental Crystals and combined it with their own abilities, creating the Focus Crystal.
This sixth relic sealed the power of the Five Elemental Crystals, leaving them active but unable to touch the world. The armies stripped of their inhuman power, the wars ceased... for a time. Contact with the crystals had awoken within mankind their own innate ability to use and control Chakra, and the countries' military forces withdrew to their own strongholds to learn this new, “Safer” power. What humanity failed to realize, however, is that not all of the Mythics were sealed away with the creation of the Focus Crystal: many chose to stay, or simply weren't pulled through to the other side for various reasons. Perfect examples of this would be the great Tailed Beasts themselves, who would come to figure so prominently in the world of shinobi.
That brings us to the time of the First Hokage: as the Five Countries have finally become proficient with the usage of Chakra, wars have once again swept across the line. The countries are crumbling, and the five grand shinobi villages that had once stood in each of the countries were little more than ruins, their residents scattered into warring clans that rampaged across the countryside. It was the First Hokage who put a stop to these wars, and founded Hidden Leaf Village as it is known today. Meanwhile, the creatures who were both mankind's greatest danger and closest ally, have faded into little more than myth.