• “Ahhhhhh!” A scream split the cool, night air, like nails on a chalkboard. I whipped around to face the direction it came from, then raced off through the trees, jumping from branch to branch, to help the person who had cried out. I got to a large clearing in the forest, and saw a young woman being chased by a demon. I drew my sword, Banryu, and beheaded it, then went over to check on the woman.

    “Are you alright,” I asked. She nodded. “I’ll escort you back to your village if you would like,” I offered.

    “I’d be grateful if you would. Would you, perhaps, mind telling me your name, miss?”

    “Kage. People call me Kage.”

    “Thank you, Kage-san.” she said, while bowing politely.

    "It's not a problem," I replied.

    Kage. Shadow. People call me this because I am a Shadow Mage. A fitting name don’t you think? Killing that demon was no problem. I’ve fought demons a lot worse than that one. Fighting demons. You must think I’m crazy to do that. After all most people don’t fight them, they just run away from them. Well, I’m not crazy. I’m just different. You see I’m a Demon Sealer, one who seals demons away so they can't harm anyone, and a highly skilled one at that, considering I was originally trained as a ninja, before the Council heard of my magic abilities. I use my magic to seal the demons in a world of eternal shadows. My magic also grants me visions of the future sometimes.

    There aren’t many sealers in the world, because you have to be born with magic. If you are not born with magic, you cannot be a Sealer. Since there are only a couple of handfuls of Sealers, the Council was set up. The Demon Sealer Council. It is made up of, not the most powerful Sealers, but the most experienced. If it were the most powerful Sealers, then practically the whole lot of them would be arrogant, stubborn, hotheads.

    As it is, Merric, the oldest living Sealer, is the Headman of the Council. He set up a system, in which one sealer is assigned to each region of the country. Everyone who is not assigned a region is called a Wanderer, a Sealer who wanders around the country sealing demons when the Sealer assigned that region is not in the area. Wanderers are also given special assignments to seal demons that are to powerful for that region’s Sealer to handle.

    I had originally been assigned to the Kanto region, but then a rookie Sealer who had just finished his apprenticeship asked to be assigned to a region. There was no region at that time without someone assigned to it, so I was able to suggest that he take over for me and be assigned to Kanto, which was relatively free of demons, as I was getting restless. The Council agreed, so I became a Wanderer.

    I have never, as of yet, regretted my choice. As a Wanderer I have been able to go up against demons that put up more of a challenge, than the demons in the Kanto region. Sadly though, I still go up against some rather... disappointing demons. I believed, that I would never meet a demon that gave me real challenge, so I always settled for being able to fight demons, and not having a slim to nothing chance of winning. If only I had seen what was in store for me.

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    After I returned the young woman to her village, I sat on the branch of a large oak tree on top of a grassy hill, and stared at the sky. “It’ll be the new moon in a couple of weeks,” I observed. I wonder why Merric wants to see me, after all this time? Could he have a new mission he needs me for? Oh well, no sense in worrying about it. Merric hadn’t summoned me for quite a while now. Demon activity has been very low recently. So I was surprised when I saw the messenger bird, and even more surprised when I learned it was a summons. That young woman was very lucky. If I hadn’t been passing through, she would have been demon food.

    From my tree branch I watched the moon set, and then the sun rise. “Alright, time to get moving again,” I said, standing up. I jumped out of the tree, landed lightly on my feet, then ran to a forest path, and continued on my way. I was headed to the base of Mount Shirouma, where the Council’s headquarters, and Merric’s hut, are located.