Long ago, in a land far away, there was a powerful kingdom.  This kingdom, the Kingdom of Inaba, ruled without equal.  No one was brave enough to face such a powerful and wise kingdom.  

Except for the Dwellers.

At first their names were just myths.  A group of bandits that traveled through the world and every town they found soon disappeared in the fog that hauntingly followed behind them.  A village touched by this wandering group soon became non-existent, simply gone without a trace.  The villagers whispered of witchcraft, but no one really knew for sure, because there were never any survivors.  How did the rumors start then?  No one knew, but a few gossipers in the market had suspicions that the Dwellers were real.  And they started the legends to cause fear.

But despite these rumors of an unknown threat, with the powers to engulf entire villages under the security of a yellowish fog, life still went on in Inaba.  Peace ruled the land with no chance of changing.

Until one night…

~~~~~~

The soldier was rather tired.  Several hours has passed since his last shift and he felt like he was nodding off.  It was his own fault for volunteering for the night shift with several other soldiers, but the sheer thought that the night was not even over yet and was barely half-way through, made him groan in despair.  As he continued to walk his pathway he spotted one of his fellow soldiers close by, sitting at his post and watching the road.  For a split moment the post soldier turned and gave a slight nod in acknowledgement before continuing doing his own boring duties.

"Just several more hours…"  The bored soldier whispered out loud as he continued on the same path he has been walking for the past three hours to the closest checkpoint to rest his tired feet for a few spar minutes.  

Silence was his only friend as the soldier made his way with the checkpoint post.  A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he picked up his pace to reach the post.  As he made it closer the lights, something caught his eye.  A figure or something hanging from the flag post above the sitting area, not a sound or a movement was made as he continued to move closer.

With caution, he pulled out his gun and placed it close to his side, ready to pull the trigger if anything was to happen.  As he inched closer to the post he could see the form clearer, and the clearer it became, the more human it seemed to be.  "H-h-hello?"  The young man stared up, ready to pull out his weapon at any given moment.  But before he could get a reaction from the figure, he captured a full view of the being and knew an answer would not come.  

For a split moment he didn't know what to do with himself, scream out of pure shock or vomit out of pure disgust.  Before him, hanging on the flag post was a human body, a young woman.  The body looked like it had been dead for days with eyes rolled back and with flesh slowly starting to decay.  

As the soldier stumbled back, ready to run in the direction, a noise caught his attention.  The noise of wings flapping overhead and a screech that seemed to echo in the distance.  "W-w-what?"  The soldier stared up as he watched the large bird float overhead until he reached the flag post.  As soon as the bird stretched out one of his clawed hands, a ghostly hand reached out for the bird to perch on.  The soldier followed the length of the arm to see a second person.  A living person…

"Well well well…looks like someone finally spotted us…"  

It came out like a growl, like a lion in the darkness ready to pounce.  His eyes glowed in the dark a haunting yellow, staring at the soldier with hunger.  He lunged forward as the hawk took up into the air, singing his death song until the figure was practically inches away from soldier's face.
"W-w-who are you?!"

The figure smiled wildly at the question.  For a moment there was nothing but silence.  As quickly as the silence came, soon came the sounds of blood-curling screams in the distance.  The solider turned his head to see the other post with their beacon's lit but from the fiery glow, creatures lunged towards the other warriors.  Their screams silenced as quickly as it came.  

Fear soon sunk down in the soldier's stomach as he tried to puff out his chest and turn towards the figure before him.  "Now all of Inaba know you are here.  This ends now!"
With that, the wild eyed figure chuckled.  He walked closer so the solider could see more of him.  He appeared human, dark and wild hair fell across his golden eyes.  Lips pulled back to reveal ghostly white teeth as he reached forward and grabbed the soldier's throat, raising him off the ground.  As soon as the soldier's face was an inch away from the figure's, the male being purred and said, "Let them know we are here.  And this isn't the beginning…"  As soon as those words left his lips, he tossed the soldier aside like a rag doll as other shadows encircled around the two with eyes glowing red.

"Inaba will be mine someday and no one will get in my way.  So let Inaba know, let the soldiers come.  But whether you like it or not, Inaba will soon be long to the Dwellers."  And as soon as those words left his lips, the young soldier, with fear still in his eyes, was devoured alive by the shadows that consumed his comrades before him.

~~~~~~

Several Hours Later in the Throne Room

"What did you say General?"  

A blank stare crossed the room into the eyes of an older gentleman in golden armor.  His hair was streaked with gray despite his middle age.  His eyes showed exhaustion and signs of weariness although his gray eyes were bright with worry and fear.

"Your majesty, the Dwellers have crossed our Northern Border…and Adachi is leading them sir."  The voice was a bit louder this time although it still had a hint of a tremble.  The name he just mentioned left him cold and confused, like a nightmare that could swallow you whole.  He glanced back towards the front of the room, trying his best to not meet the eyes of the man he was speaking to.  From the brief moments he spent glancing towards the man he was kneeling before; he couldn't tell what he was thinking.  The emperor was a man of mystery, keeping mainly to himself to the point that not even the grand councilman could never truly understand him.  The man dressed in black and blue leaned forward with eyes closed, hands folded together while his elbows rested on his knees.  His long nose rested on his knuckles as he absorbed the rest of the information given to him.  
Adachi, a name he has not heard or at least not willing to hear for a long time.  To think, after all of these years he has survived the darkness that consumed him and taken him away from society.  If he was alive, this posed a very troubling thought on the emperor's mind.  If he was still alive, the darkness that consumed him must still be with him.  And if it was the same darkness, then the fate of Inaba was deeply in trouble.  Not only that, but the rumors of creatures and towns disappearing in a yellow fog, did not set the emperor at ease.  
"Your highness?"
For a moment, Emperor Igor remained silent.  The nasally voice of his councilman did not stir him and neither did the awkward cough from General Tatsumi.  

"It saddens me that this threat is coming from one of our own.  I have always worried this day may have come, that there was a small chance that Adachi will emerge from the darkness with nothing but hatred in his heart.  But…"  Emperor Igor opened his eyes and stared down towards the kneeling general, "with that we must be prepare.  Before you arrived general I consulted the cards and they told me that this threat can be avoided."  He continued with a wide smile on his face (while the emperor was a good man his smiles tend to terrify many and thus he seldom does it) as he took out a blue deck of cards out of his sleeves.  

"We will suffer loses but in the end, the darkness will fall and light will reign once more…"  The old emperor fell silent for a moment as he glanced through the cards and peered at the one that came first, the Fools Card.  Someone's journey will begin from this chaos, and through their journey, the light will return.  And yet another card, the Wheel of Fortune, this hero that will be emerging will face trials that will bring them to a point in life that will change them.  The next was Judgment; something will bring the hero to the point in which he will discover who they are.  Life will begin anew from the darkness from not only around them but within as well.  And through these trials the hero will be made whole, thus what the World card says.  Igor chuckled to himself with glee, oh how he loved when things come together in the grand scheme of things.

"Morooka…"  The emperor stated as he placed the cards back in his sleeves and closed his eyes once more.  The grand councilman that was to his right, stumbled over himself as he turned towards his emperor and tried to bow, "Yes your highness?"  The scrawny man asked with head bowed.  Igor slowly rise from his chair and started to walk towards General Tastumi, "I want you to send notice to all the villages of my kingdom to gather soldiers.  "If Adachi is the same as he was last time, we must need all the soldiers we can get."

"Excuse me my emperor, but I think my men can stop him," General Tatsumi answered with pride.  The spark was back in his eyes as he got to his feet.  Igor glanced down at the General, a smile easing onto his face before he reached forward and laid a long, bony hand on the general's shoulder.  "The cards never lie General.  A grain of rice may tip the scale; one man may be the difference between victory and defeat.  Besides, where is the fun of leaving your men to do all the work?  Let's add some drama~"