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KC. The Kolareny Chronicles. The accounts of the history of Earth. More specifically, the history of the effects of a certain family's, nay, a certain person's, existance on the Earth. That person? The Scourge; The Typhoon; The Black Devil; The Shadow Guard; Rhiannon Kolareny. Born into a world unprepared for her, singled out by God for a duty no one on Earth could have ever been prepared for, she has walked the ever-changing paths of the Earth since man first settled in the Cradle of Life. She will continue to walk until the end of time. Only then will she find rest.

What's her story? Come and find out.


How many times had she been here? Three? Well, not this road, specifically. The roads were always new. Maybe that was a good thing, she told herself. She was likely to get bored, otherwise. Roads aside, the landscape was still the same. She hadn't given it enough time to change, yet. That's what she got for coming back after only twenty years. She wondered...if any of those kids were still alive...and would they... She shook her head with a grumble. Best not to think about that. She wouldn't go near that orphanage, if indeed it still existed.

In looks, Rhia appeared anywhere between eighteen and twenty-three, depending on her moods. It was all in the eyes, really. Eyes of crimson, that seemed to change in expression as often as the wind changes directions. Long auburn hair was pulled back behind her head, a braid reaching to the end of her shoulderblades before being wrapped in a white cloth the rest of the way down her back, just past her hips. Six inches of the tips stuck out, and a red hawk's tail feather was stuck into the end of the wrap. The hair wrap wasn't the only chinese thing about her, for the collar of the burgandy top she wore resembled that of the newest chinese fashion. It looked almost comical with the black hakama and wooden sandals she'd bought for her travels when she'd returned. Yet, somehow, few people seemed to notice her as she passed the various farms that spotted the Nihon countryside.

She came to a stop at the top of a familiar hill. The path hadn't been so nicely cut back then... She'd told herself she wouldn't come here, and yet, here she was. She gazed down at the small town she'd claimed as her home twenty years before. Time always seemed to stand still in the Nihon countryside. The cities were flooded with technology and fashion of the West, but here, life was just the same as it had been before the Door to the West had been opened. The New World had even touched Rhia, as she felt the cool metal of the Colt against her back, tucked nicely into a loop she'd sewn into the back of her hakama. The belt hid it nicely, the slight swell completely unnoticeable. That wasn't her only influence, she knew, but she supposed it was the one that mattered the most in the situations she tended to find herself in.

Her scarred face gazed down at the village, unsure of what to do. She shouldn't, and yet she couldn't turn away. Her heart ached to go, to revisit the past as she always did. But before, she'd always given herself time for the last generation to die out...so she wouldn't be remembered...but now. She closed her eyes tightly and muttered a curse, then hurred the clunk of wood against ground as she took that first step forward. Destiny had a strong hold on her leash. She might as well obey, and see where the current of life took her this time.

Grumbling something under his breath, Wen swings his long bo through the air with a quick snap of his shoulder and arm. The end of the eight foot bamboo pole cuts through the air with a whistle and hits the ground with a loud thwack. Giving a sudden cry, his startled foe quickly turns and runs off to join his allies.

"Stupid sheep..." Wen hadn't wanted to herd sheep. He really wanted to join the local guard and help to defend the village. Unfortunately, the last time the village needed defending from anything it was from a stray mongrel that had been mistaken for a rabid jackal. So, as it stood, even those on the guard found themselves with plenty of time to tackle other duties...one of which was raise sheep which Wen was forced to help herd.

It wasn't bad work really, just horribly boring. Still, it was all he and the older orphans could do to insure that they were allowed to keep their home. After the westerners had left, the village had wanted to put them back to begging on the streets like before. What good was a perfectly good building full of useless children, after all? Well, they were showing them now. Wen is brought out of his thoughts as that same fiesty ewe goes wandering off away from her flock again.

"Can't you do as you're told?! Rrrrh!"

Iva finished hanging the clothes and ran back inside to change her clothes. Grandmother was still asleep, as she was accustomed to sleeping in now that Iva was here to basically do everything around the house. She found a clean dress and slipping on her shoes, she hurried out the door just as the stranger came walking down the street. She had not realized before that the stranger was blind. At least she assumed she was, for it was clear the stranger was a woman, yet dressed in mens clothing and she wore a covering over her eyes. Iva wondered if she was in some way scarred and felt it necessary to keep her face covered, so as not to draw attention to herself. She did not however, walk like one blind. She seemed to know exactly where to place each step, for she did so without hesitation.
Iva waited for her to get closer and said,
"Hello, I am Iva. You look tired. Are you hungry or thirsty?"

"Of course. Please come inside."
She led the woman into the house and showed her where she could put her staff and belongings.
"If you would follow me, you can rest in the garden while I get you something to drink. I have not had breakfast yet, so we can eat together."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Iva could have sworn she heard the woman say, beautiful, but what would she have been saying that about.

Confused at how a blind person was able to detect the beauty surrounding her, Iva chose to stem her curiousity for the moment.
"You may sit here. I will return with some tea."
She turned to go into the kitchen and then remembered,
"I don't know your name."

"Well, I am pleased to meet you Rhia. I will be right back," and with that, Iva went inside to prepare some tea for her guest.

Iva busied herself with preparing the tea and started the rice cooking for some rice balls. She could hear her grandmother moving around in her room and she hoped she would not incur any problems by inviting this strange woman into the house. Her grandmother was not really a mean person, but since her eyesight had begun to fail her, she was becoming more tempermental, due she supposed to the fact that her grandmother could no longer do all the things she used to love so much. The garden where she had taken the stranger to was all her grandmothers doing. She had loved to work out there on sunny days and got very upset when one of her bushes or trees became sick and died. Now it was left to Iva to tend the garden and on too many occasions, she did it with her grandmother looking over her shoulder. She guessed she should count herself lucky to have family who were willing to take her in after her parents deaths. So many children were left without anyone and were living in the streets of the big cities. She felt safe her in this valley in the mountains, but she missed all the day to day doings of the city, not to mention her friends she had left behind.
The water boiled and the tea prepared, she took it out to the garden for Rhia, perhaps a new friend? Well, she could hope. How did a blind woman get all the way out here anyway? She had so many questions she wanted to ask this woman, but she had to be careful not to seem too inquisitive and risk chasing her away.
"Here is the tea." She set the pot down on the small table next to Rhia and poured her a cup of the hot green tea, which this part of the country was well known for. "I have to go back inside for a moment. My grandmother is just waking up and she needs me to help her first thing in the morning. I will return shortly. The rice is cooking and will be ready soon. Is there anything else I can do for you right now?"