Overture to the Sun

Echoes in the Daylight
Four figures stood atop the great bone wall surrounding the borders of the Land of Whispering Bone. Behind them lay their home country full of forests, hills, and valleys and various settlements, villages, and even a mountain range. Several kilometers ahead lay the borders of the Land of Sunshine.

Kinkazu's gaze swept across the blank face plate of Gokuraku to his left. Despite his eternally masked face, the tilt of his head in a certain direction told Kinkazu that his friend was indeed meeting his stare. In some strange way, the naked eye staring into the obfuscating mask, glinting in the sunlight, signified their sojourn to the nation on their western border.

To either side of them stood the current Senior Envoy, Sogen Sutäsha, and the leader of the Seven, Uragiku Jūroku.

Jūroku surveyed the lands beyond the wall with his Rengetsugan. The presence of his unease registered with the others as a palpable force. Mere miles separated the borders of their country and those of the Land of Sunshine. They could cross that distance in minutes at cruise speed. However, at the envoy's direction, they waited instead, much to Juroku's chagrin.

Since they had no prior contact with this nation, Sutäsha had sent her summons ahead to the capitol. They had no idea whether this country was a warlike nation. She had hoped the sky beast would fare better than a ninja crossing unknown territory on the ground. No need to start conflict unnecessarily. It would probably be detected even at 10,000 meters altitude. However, if the creature were attacked, it would simply desummon and return to its home, sending word to her from there of the circumstances.

In any case, it would drop its cargo suspended from tethers tied to a hemispherical canopy. The cargo would float down and land outside the gates of Hakkingakure. She had prepared the cargo as an olive branch to the leaders of this land. A parchment containing a message was sealed within.

Nothing to do now but wait for a response.