Shadow Falls

It's mid-afternoon in the dreary village of Shadow Falls, in the Land of Craters. This industrial mining and smelting town is old- its founding dating to far before the first war. Rumor has it that the process for iron production was invented here, in this backwater valley hundreds of years ago. The dozens of ancient stone furnaces adorning the windward face of the nearby mountain seem to lend credence to this belief, but have long since been abandoned in preference to more modern smelting methods.

A waterfall sprays from the cliff face of the mountainside, and its waters trickle into the community in a small stream. The town gained its name, it's said, from the clear waters that well up from the heart of the mountain, and the shadow it passes through. At one time Shadow Falls was a busy, industrious community- but it has recently fallen on hard times. In the wake of the diseases that have plagued the region, it alone has seemingly been spared. Spared, but not unharmed. This small community of roughly five hundred relied almost exclusively on the outside world for food. The destruction of the Land of Craters has destroyed trade in the region, and farming has ceased. The village now hovers at the edge between desperation and hope, as food supplies dwindle. Some of the village have turned to more desperate food sources. Few pet cats and dogs remain alive, having mysteriously vanished. The mountain goats and rams of the valley have likewise been exhausted. There are rumors of cannibalism... but so far, this hasn't been proven.

Some have even turned to the infamous Black Crowns that adorn the walls and streets of the village. The Black Crown is a mushroom that is uniquely adapted to Shadow Falls- the heavy minerals and metals that are drawn out of the mines of the village have thoroughly contaminated the groundwater and soil- nothing grows here except for this strange fungus. The villagers, likewise, contain unusually high levels of toxins and radioactivity. The Black Crown, however, has adapted its radioactivity as a means of producing food in the naturally dark village. The heat of its radioactivity breaks down the wood and biodegradable matter, freeing the life-giving chemicals upon which it subsists.

It's this strange, sullen village that a lone ninja arrives at. A lone crow, flying overhead, trumpets his arrival in a cacophony of raucous caws.