The Secret of the Samuriess

The Secret of the Samuriess-PROLOGUE

By Starlight 479

*Sound of commotion and mugs clinking together*

. . .So. . .you want to hear the tale of the Samuriess? Raise your mugs to this brave lad, though he may not realize what he has gotten himself into. Ah. . .well, let this be a remedy to the lad's cowardice. Hopefully I will not be as loquacious as I usually am about this tale-we will be here all night! Well, sit down, and I shall begin the tale . . .

*Inn sound comes back into focus*

Once, long ago, when human life had only just begun, there began an intense cult called the Samuriess (When loosely translated, the name means "Fierce Women"). The Samuriess evolved quickly, developing magical abilities and a strong belief that women belonged at the top among the many aspects of their culture. They were born with immensely long life spans and long hair. Their magical abilities they tried to share, but it meant being shunned and recognized as freaks, a serious misnomer-as they showed magical abilities up to 200 years before the first wizards-, an as a result of these feelings they were attacked constantly by the other tribes. They withstood the attacks, and tried to ignore them, but once they went too far.

The Samuriess retreated into the mountains, placing powerful defensive wards around their nominated retreats-to insure no "visitors" came calling-, and became reclusive very quickly. They put all their strength into developing offencial and defencial magics, including a set of long, thin and very pointy swords that they used like wands to channel their magic, and as regular swords, for approximately 50 years, until they were ready to lead a revenge party against their offenders. Of course, they had trained their women as their warriors and the men to stay at home and look after the children. All the Samuriess warriors gathered together, and prepared to descend the mountain.

Swift as a diving hawk, the Samuriess came out of the mountain and seized their prey in their mighty talons. They began their reign of terror by holding a mass slaughter of the peoples, primitive English, Welsh, and Scottish, for about a quarter of a year, almost non-stop. Eventually, they had satisfied their thirst for revenge and established a reputation of being blood-thirsty and terrifying, so they retreated back to the mountains and became quiet.

They put their newly recharged reservoir of energy into developing magical objects and abilities, including even longer life spans, so long that some of the first Samuriess are rumored to be alive today, a object not unlike a cross between a portkey and apparating, which allowed them to travel all around the ancient world in hardly a moment, and a time-traveling device, though it's existence has been questioned. They used these devices to travel world-wide, passing on bits of their culture to people of all nationalities. They were highly respected in Japan, and the Samuriess taught the Japanese much of the art of war. Since the Samuriess required things in return, the Japanese credited the Samuriess by naming the highest warriors of their craft Samurai, but it was too late to make the warriors women. They globe-hopped like this for many years, sharing their secrets, definitely not being seen as ridiculous, and getting snippets of almost all cultures and blending them into their own. They got into a regular rhythm of traveling, staying in one land and then vanishing to another, but eventually found their thirst for blood to terrible to bear. They resigned their peaceful time of culture exchange, and returned to the English countryside.

They returned to England, finding them the only ones worthy of death, to kill and slaughter anything they saw. But this time-the people were ready, and had rehearsed many times how they would counter-attack them. Some groups of peoples had developed magics, and others remained "muggles", but all were slightly skilled in the art of war. The 200 Samuriess Warrioresses met over 20,000 people rallied from all over the islands, and their power came close to being matched. The Samuriess killed many, but their numbers dwindled also. About 500 "normal" people survived the fight, while 75 Samuriess lived to retreat into the mountains again, taking with them their dead and burying them in eloquent ceremonies.

The Samuriess decided that their reign of power was over. They retreated into the mountains, by order of their leader, and were hardly seen again. Their presence went from a daily terror, to a occasional nightmare, to a deadly omen, and finally to whoever claimed to see one was admitted to St. Mungo's. They went from a terrifying shadow to a nominal being. History became myth, myth became legend, and things that should not have been forgotten were lost. But the Samuriess still existed, no matter who doubted them, as young Ginny Weasley was about to find out...