A fog hangs heavily in the air as Smoke sits across from the old swordsman. A light rain begins to fall as Takeda runs his fingers over the ancient parchment.
"This scroll... you signed your name onto it?" Smoke nods his head.
"It awakened some type of power in me." Streams of smoke rise from Tom's fingertips as Takeda strokes the scruff on his chin.
"Did Zhao.... did he tell you the true nature of this scroll?"
"No, is there any reason why he shouldn't have?" Smoke began to question his former Grandmaster's judgement in his thoughts.
"Then I should start from the beginning... centuries ago the young children of Japan began mysteriously disappearing, only for their bodies to turn up days later... charred to the bone. It turned out this was the work of a cult, trying to summon an ancient demon known as the Enenra. The Enenra was a misunderstood creature, appearing only to the pure of heart. The demon appeared to a boy of a local clan, seeking justice for those who were sacrificed in it's name. The demon granted it's powers to the child, although the child was not aware of it."
"So... my powers are the result of a demon?"
"Patience... let me continue and all will be clear. So, the boy was abducted by the cult and subjected to the summoning ceremony. As the boy's flesh burned away the smoke began to take a physical form... and slew all of the cultists in the area, leaving nothing but blackened skeletons. The boy was later found on the altar, very much alive. But... the samurai who found him believed he was to blame for the deaths of the other children. He was taken to a temple where a priest performed a gruesome exorcism... I will spare you the details but the Enenra was sealed away in this very scroll. The clan the boy belonged to was charged with keeping the scroll. Every hundred years the greatest and most honorable warrior of the clan had to sign the scroll with their blood to keep the Enenra sealed away. Any that preformed this ritual dropped dead, but legend stated that one warrior would rise from the ritual with the powers of the Enenra. Your mother was a descendant of this clan... Tomas Vrbada.. the Enenra deemed you worthy."
"This... this all sounds so far fetched... I don't know what to think, why would the Grandmaster put me in such danger?" Smoke looked at the gemstone on the end of the pendant, not sure what to think.
"I'm sure Zhao had his reasons... maybe you ought to ask him when you go back?"
"I would but... He is dead, he left me these items in his will."
"Ah... that makes sense..." Takeda lowers his head and says a small incantation, the language he spoke in was unfamiliar to Smoke.
"I believe that necklace may be related to the Enenra, your father wore it when he studied here and claimed it was a family heirloom... I didn't think anything of it at the time... but looking back, it must have been fate for him to meet your mother." Takeda continued on.
"I... thank you Takeda, this has answered a lot for me, I see now why Grandmaster sent me here. I should return to the clan... goodbye." Smoke spent his journey back home reflecting on what Takeda had said, his mind clouded with doubt and confusion.