CONSTRUCTION BEGINS NOVEMBER 2009
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Three kings bound to one sword, under five gods, three living, two dead. One man, three names, two serpents, four roads ... enter the world of the Three Kingdoms.
On the shores of a distant world, Mifune awakens from a dream to find himself lost on a dark beach, with only a name for his memory and only his skill with a sword to forge his way. From the Moon Pool in the Forest of the Mists to the halls of the Sunken City, from the Land of the Dead to the slopes of Mt. Olympus, Mifune's journey will take him on a winding path through a land populated by Gods and Demons, killers and gamblers, and the emissaries of the Gods: the white Hart, Lord of the Forest, and Leviathan, Lord of the Sea. This is a world of daimyo and samurai and a strange technology inherited from the past, the understanding of which has long been forgotten. From the safety of their massive strongholds, the Lords of the Five Kingdoms rule over peasants who have grown accustomed to harsh taxation and meaningless violence. The Law of the Land is constant war, but an honest man, King Leto Atreides, has slowly grown in power and wisdom and now he seeks to negotiate at last a Peace between the Kingdoms. But in the cover of night, the darkness is gathering and an ancient curse still haunts the noble house of Atreus. The Weeping Sword, the legacy of Atreus, lies quietly in the throne room of the king, but her dark eyes still drip blood and, across the sea, her old betrothed still smolders in his pit of fire. Join Mifune and such friends as he can find as he travels through the lands of the Three Kingdoms, in search of his past, honor, and strong liquor.
Mortals
Shimata, The Rival Lieutenant
Natsumi, Heir to the House of Atreus
... Returning from his mission to meet with the leader of the bandit tribes, Shimata and his men see a red glow on the horizon. Fearing the worst, they frantically gallop back towards the ancestral fortress, only to find a towering inferno in its place...
The Fall of the House of Atreus:
Flames and smoke billow out of the windows and doors of Castle Atreus, as towers and huge sections of the outer walls collapse and tumble down into the city below, smashing through the roofs of houses and spreading fire throughout the city. As Shimata and his men force their way past the main gates, they are met by a holocaust of broken bodies and destruction. The dead are everywhere. The Atreides warriors are heaped in small piles of butchered men, with the swords and arrows that killed them still jutting out of their bodies. Lords of the court lie butchered in their finery, with their women and children besides them, and the bodies of their chambermaids and valets strewn throughout the hallways. The expensive tapestries drip with gore, and the screens of the sliding wooden doors are stained with huge swathes of blood. Surveying the carnage, Shimata's face is a mask of stone. Some of his men call out for their families and clansmen, while others weep silent tears of grief and rage. For Shimata and his warriors this is the end of their own lives as well. They are now masterless men, ronin, with nothing left to live for but a blood-debt that must be repaid.
Ignoring the fire, Shimata moves further into the heart of the castle, pulling his men along with him, walking with the unhesitating step of a sleepwalker deep in trance. As the wood and stone of the castle groans, Shimata pauses at the threshold of the throneroom, and then gazes through the shattered doors into the darkness within. The broken body of Atreus reclines upon the throne. In his arms he cradles the body of his daughter, Natsumi, still dressed in her bridal kimono. The aftermath of a fierce, final struggle can be seen. The king's private bodyguard made a desperate last stand in this room, and here they managed to kill at least one of the Deathwatch. The gigantic armored corpse leans up against the throne, covered by the bodies of King Atreus' guard.
Shimata: Men, look well on this room and what lies within. See the fate of our Lord and Master, and how they have broken the poor body of this old and honorable man. They put his child's body in his arms. See how his family has been struck down, even as your families were slaughtered. Fill your hearts. The line of Atreus has been ended and we have only death before us now. While we live, we live to bring murder to the enemies of our lord, and when we die our vengeance will be our only satisfaction. Now, bring me the body of our Lord, and let us lay him to rest in the crypt with as much honor as we can. For the rest of our dead, this castle must be their funeral pyre.
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... Mifune and Natsumi have just barely escaped from the Fall of the House of Atreus. Natsumi's father was murdered by the Dark Lord, his castle burned and razed, and his people put to the sword. Gravely injured from his duel with Richmond, Mifune lies near death. He and Nastumi have managed to stow away on a rice barge heavily-laden with winter provisions for the villages downstream. Snow swirls through the air and blankets the landscape, and as they drift along through the night Natsumi's partially snow-covered face is lit up by the full moon. She and Mifune hide among the bushels of rice, huddling together for warmth. Mifune passes in and out of consciousness, and blood continues to drip from the terrible wound in his side. There is something tender in Natsumi's eyes as she keeps watch on him, clutching her father's wakizashi blade in her hands. But there is also an arctic chill in Natsumi's gaze that is colder than the icy water beneath them. She is the daughter of a murdered king and the heir to a fallen kingdom, and her destiny is to lead armies into battle and many men to their deaths. Her childhood has been sealed shut by the flames and the bloodshed of the massacre, and her emotions have been cauterized by trauma. Stone-faced and silent, she contemplates the means and the hour of her revenge.
Gods
Hades, The God-Body
Anubis, The Dog God
Creatures of the Three Kingdoms
Cerberus, The Watchdog of the Dead
Places**
All text, characters, and descriptions on this website are copy-write William Nee and Two Kings Production Studios.
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