Baraku
Legacy Name: Baraku

There are many ways to summon a demon. All are dark paths that demand rituals of sacrifice and black magic is usually involved. Any novice with a penchant for magic can acquire the skills needed for such a task, but what if your desire is to summon something of an even darker nature? What if you wanted to summon not a demon, but something far worse?

The girl stood in line with her father, clutching his hand as she watched the chaos of the marketplace. It was just before dusk. Most of the vendors were haggling over their last deal of the day or packing away their wares. Their eyes traveled over the servant who had waited patiently for two hours for his chance to buy a jar of cooking oil.

The oil merchant could pick up the huge jars without much difficulty. He was down to the point of scraping the bottom of the last one with a great spoon. Once the final drops fell, that was it. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught wanting would spend a miserable winter's night hungry.

The child looked up at her father with trusting eyes. Her dress was patched and she often went hungry, but she had never once doubted the man who was the calm center of the household.

"Good sir, I have coin here for one little jar of oil."

The merchant looked over Father's hard-earned gold, testing it with his teeth. Though the gold was good, he sneered and tested it again. It had not been so long ago that this merchant had begged for his bread. Good fortune had smiled on the man. He rarely smiled on those who had not found the path of success.

The child almost went sprawling on her face when the fat man pushed her father out of his path and slapped his hand down on the oil merchant's counter.

"I'll take whatever you've got left and I'll pay you double for it. My guests are demanding more honey cakes. What kind of host would I be if I didn't oblige them?"

Father clasped his hands together. "Please, sir. We have waited in line half the day. We need only this little jar filled, so that my children will not go hungry tonight. My baby is sick and my mother is near death. Let me have just this small amount of oil and there will be plenty left over to feed your guests."

The rich man shrugged. The matter was nothing to him.

The merchant's sneer became an all-out leer. He poured until the thick golden liquid ceased to drip, handing a new, sealed jar to the rich man and accepting his gold. "I would not dream of shorting such a noble and well-respected man, my dear sir. All that I have at my disposal, even this meager portion of oil, is yours.

The rich man walked away without another word. Father fell to his knees, blocking the merchant's path. "Please, sir. I will give you the robe from my back. I will work half a year to pay off the debt. Only give me a little jar of oil. It need not be fresh. If it will set the bread, it will see my family through the night."

The merchant managed to walk right around Father though he balanced both huge jars on his shoulders. He said not a word.

The child glared at the shrinking man. He had struck a bargain with Father first. He was a thief and an honorless man. He needed to be punished.

Her heart ached to see her mother weeping as her father told the family what had happened. The little girl sat by her grandmother, holding the old woman's wrinkled hand, trying to lend what little warmth she could.

She waited until the evening meal was concluded. The adults were away in the temple, praying to the ancestors. The other children were asleep. As the oldest, she was allowed an extra hour before she would be expected to join them. She would put that time to good use.

The child looked up at the sky as she snuck through the front gate. Baraku adored rain. The child had sensed the malignant spirit in every rumble of thunder and every flash of lightning. Nobody else would believe her when she tried to tell them that there was an evil lurking in storm clouds. They shrugged it off as the product of a child's imagination.

The girl found a tail from a lump of charcoal lying near the neighbor's cellar. She would be chased away for trying to take a sizable lump, but for this little nub, nothing was said.

Her father had often taken her past the merchant's house on their way to the market. Though night was falling, she needed no help to find the right door.

She could smell duck roasting on the other side of the wall. The succulent scent brought tears to her eyes as her mouth began to water. She drew the black circle with great care, taking her time to form each letter. The result was a lopsided sentence no adult would be able to decipher. It read: "Baraku, he's so mean!"

The wind picked up and the rain began in earnest. The little girl turned away.

Baraku took form not far from the market gates, unperturbed by the pouring rain that made her sudden appearance all but invisible to the distant guards. She eyed her surroundings with the cool confidence of a warrior that is unflinching in any surroundings. Her pace was gradual. She might slow to offer a fierce grin when the lightning seared the sky and the thunder sounded but she never quite came to a stop.

She was within a few feet of the gates when her presence drew the eyes of the sentinels at last. The two on the ground made their wary approach.

"Halt! State your business."

The hilt that appeared to be no more than a small club was lit by the fierce light of an energy beam that shot one hundred feet into the sky.

"Sound the alarm! It's her. The demon, she has come to our city!

The captain arrived with reinforcements only moments later. He found two seasoned members of the guards lying on their backs, twitching uncontrollably. A great round portion of the gate and surrounding wall had simply been cut away, like soft cheese beneath a sharp knife.

Baraku strolled the lanes of the marketplace, occasionally stopping to browse when some trinket in the window of a permanent shop caught her eye. She could simply take anything she wanted. The lack of challenge made theft a fruitless activity not worthy of her attention. She merely liked to cast an eye over the simple trinkets made by human hands. Possession of worldly goods was beneath her.

She was nearly past the merchant's house when an impulsive twitch of her eye made her pause and do a double take. She halted mid-stride, angling her neck to read the chunky letters that had not yet been washed away by the rain. She closed the distance until she was standing directly in front of the wall. It was the first time anyone had ever left her a message. A smile of genuine delight spread over her face. She swung her fist directly at the center of the sentence, taking out a sizeable chunk of wall and strolling through the opening, all the while wearing that same gleeful smile.

The merchant stumbled down the stairs, wrapping his robe more firmly around his body as he went. His hands went to his scalp as he took in the damage to his wall, one built specifically to keep the most determined burglars out.

Baraku very deliberately increased the size of the hole, staring directly at the merchant. She made no effort to stop him when he ran for the door, out into the streets. She was not the least bit concerned when he started crying for the guard.

Baraku's blade went to work, slicing through priceless vases filled with oil, precious spices and musky perfumes. The contents of the vessels evaporated the instant they touched the plasma edges of the unearthly sword.

"Intruder! Come out at once, or we're coming in!"

Baraku obliged the captain's order, though not in the way he'd anticipated. She spun in a graceful circle, her blade cutting through all four walls supporting the house. The slightest pressure from the sword's tip sent the entire structure sliding north, in the direction of the street. The house gained speed as it slid, sending the astonished captain and his men scrambling for cover. The merchant barely escaped with his life, saved by the quick hands of a guard who had seen many civilians freeze in a crisis situation.

Through it all, Baraku maintained her position at the center of the entry. Her smile was still serene, still filled with the joy of someone doing what they love best.

Destruction was Baraku's passion.

The captain lunged in front of the quivering merchant when Baraku started forward. His blade struck her side but not even a scratch was made to her. She barely laid a hand on the man, allowing his own momentum to bring him to the ground. The next guard to get in her way proved less lucky. She picked the man up, hurling him directly at the merchant. The stunned guard could only lay there and moan as Baraku came face-to-face with her target.

She didn't even notice the other guards closing in around her. If one came too close, he found himself flat on his back. A spark from the sword was its own little bolt of lightning.

Desperate for time, the captain struggled to sit up, calling out to Baraku in his battle field voice.

"Why this man, Spirit? What has he done to you?"

For just a moment, Baraku's full gaze fell on the captain. She tilted her head slightly, as if pondering his words.

When the strike came, it was with a beautiful savagery that made even the battle veterans flinch. Baraku's blade went through the merchant's body, leaving him floating a few feet on the ground, every limb jerking uncontrollably. He could not work up the breath to scream.

None of the guards tried to hamper her exit.

Baraku walked the open country road with the town at her back, taking the occasional sip from a bottle of sake. The potent drink had no effect on her senses. She merely liked the way it tasted.

The rain had decreased for a time but never ceased and now it was picking up again. The child's plea had only been a distraction, a brief stop on the journey to the calling of a force she had no name for, a being of great power of will that had dared to speak her name in the exact inflection necessary to call up a summoning storm. She did not know who awaited her at the blackened tree, but she had every intention of learning their purpose.

Bonus Art:
by User not found: zenya

by User not found: zenya
Thank you so much, Cecilia. Truly grateful.