And So It Begins... [Xuri](OPEN)

Just like any other day in Makapu Village, it began as the very first beams of sun touched the earth. The roosters crowed, greeting the coming light and awakening the people of the town just as the sun awoken the roosters. The people got up to begin what should have been an ordinary day. Another day of laughter, peace, living. It should have been an ordinary day, that's what anyone would have said. Why is that? That's because that's how it always was.

When a split in reality appeared in the middle of the village, no one knew what it was. In fact, no one even feared it at that moment. The only thing that crossed the minds of all the watched the strange tear in reality in the middle of town was curiosity. It's existence made no sense.

Curiosity was soon replaced with fear as it quickly became clear what the dimensional fissure was, a portal to the Spirit world. It wasn't the Spirit Portal itself that brought fear upon the town, it was what came out. Beings, closer to monsters than spirits. Their black etheral skin stained what was originally a tranquil town. It wasn't before long that these dark spirits began laying waste to the town.

The soldiers stationed in the town did their best to quickly evacuate the citizens; the town was no longer safe. There weren't nearly enough soldiers to hold off the dark spirits coming through the portal and as a result, they too were forced to retreat and formed temporary defensive lines outside the town to hold off the oncoming waves of Dark Spirits. The soldiers knew it wouldn't be enough, but they needed to buy the citizens time to escape. Using the new, state-of-the-art telegraphy systems, the soldiers outside of Makapu sent word back to the Capital in Ba Sing Se, seeking immediate reinforcements. They were their only chance of survival...

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San (BloodBender, Healer) was easily the cause of the sudden appearance of the Spirit Portal. Spiritually, he was a prodigy, capable of things people shouldn't capable of. The Xuri made a quick trip to the Library of Wan Shi Tong, seeking knowledge that had been lost. San learned the rituals to creating a portal as he did and corrupting the spirits within as they had been. There was actually more to the creation of the Dark Portal in Makapu other than the destruction of the village. According to the leader, Makapu was an Anchor to an ancient part of the Spirit World that no human has entered for years. Along with two other members, the leader had entered the portal in search for something. Well, whether it was true or not, it didn't matter to San. The burning village of Makapu was a beautiful sight to him.

San and two of his allies, Lau (Lava Bender) and Chui (Steam Bender), watched as the Spirits lay waste to the town. The people of the town had evacuated and the soldiers set up a defensive line outside of town in order to combat the oncoming wave of Dark Spirits. San had some control over the Dark Spirits and could tell them not to attack his allies, but as for directly commanding their every action, that was out of his abilities. The Dark Spirits would do as they wished. If they wanted to attack the Makapu Soldiers, they would do that on their own. Not that it really mattered though. The only thing San, Lau, and Chui had to do was buy their allies within the Spirit Portal some time. An easy enough task.

Sighing and looking wishfully at the soldiers defensive line, Lau said, "What a pity that we must sit here and do nothing. I just want a decent fight for once. The soldiers over appear like they can do at least half of that."
"Quit complaining," Chui told her, "That's all you ever do. I'm getting real annoyed."
"Ohh?" Lau asked, a bit pissed, "I wouldn't be one to talk. You were complaining about the food that we were supplied with for this."
Chui, starting to get pissed as well, said, "That crap doesn't even count as food. If anything, it's just..."

San quit listening to the two women bicker. Honestly, it was uninteresting to him. He just continued to watch the Dark Spirits and the burning ruins of Makapu.

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Exactly as planned, the Spirit Portal had led exactly to where it should have. Exactly as planned, none of the Spirits had attacked him. That was good, San never failed to dissapoint.

With a hooded cloak covering his body, The man followed by two of his subjects, Jiraia (Samurai Fire Bender) and Tseng (Ex-Water Bender Captain) made their way through the land the Spirit Portal had led them to. Tseng was dragging a large bag behind him as they went. It was dark, yet the lack of stars or the moon made it clear they weren't outside. The ground was all rock and dirt, save for the numerous glowing mushrooms that dotted the land. They appeared to be inside a large cavern, but the ceiling and walls were far out of sight. Off in the distance however, some old ruins could be seen, illuminated from the green flames the burned in the torches on the building. The man knew that was where they had to go and he began proceeding in that direction, followed by Jiraia and Tseng.

A few months ago, The Man and followers known as Xuri attacked the Fire Nation in the search of a powerful Amulet called the Amulet Of Tsun. The Amulet was never found however, but after a recent trip to the Library Of Wan Shi Tong, it became clear that there were other methods to achieve what they wanted. Gomorrah, the ancient spirit once worshiped as a god. That was their solution and the Man knew how to use it.

They entered the ruins. In the center of it, an old circle with strange runes all around it, clearly a circle once used for rituals and stuff. It was just like the Man was told.
The Man nodded at Tseng and said, "Let us begin."
Tseng nodded and let the contents of the bag he was dragging roll out. A bitter taste appeared in Tseng mouth as he once again saw what it was. The head of a giant owl. The head of Wan Shi Tong. A souvenir from their trip to the Library.

The Man knew that Spirits didn't simply die like this and the giant Spirit Owl would be reborn elsewhere, but still, the head of Wan Shi Tong from one his sub-physical lives would be a great gift to Gomorrah.

And so it begins... The Man thought to himself, The Beginning Of The End.

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OOC:

Alright, so this is the start of the next part of the Xuri arc. This thread is open to all who want to join, but please keep in mind that the Xuri members are all upper expert and master level enemies so don't expect your beginner tier character to keep up. Even still, if you feel you're under the level you should be to take on a Xuri member, keep in mind that you may have the assistance of another member to give you more of a fair advantage over the Xuri member.

Anyways, if you want to join, you only need to put a single post in this thread. That will let me know that you're joining. Once I know you're joining, I can create a thread later on that more focused on your character. A good place to have your character start if you don't know is to meet up with the Defensive Line the Makapu soldiers have formed. From there, a battle against Dark Spirits and Xuri members will begin.

Here is a link to all the Xuri members if you want it.