Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series.

Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows

It had been decades ago that Aureus Bellum had began. Back then, huge stores of gold and ore had been discovered in the Caurus Mines.

Vel iustus offendo ab istic patefacio cista de aurum pro sese – "Even the just may sin because there is an open chest of gold before him"

While other people were out gathering land for their crowns, some were searching for their own greatness. Four men, the 'Quattour Frater' as they were called, had found it. They had found the greatest cache of gold on that side of the Media versus. This was the gold that would make them their own kings. It would make them richer than they could ever imagine, but their dreams of opulence had only lasted so long. Soon news had spread of the gold mines and people from all walks of the earth were traveling to the mines to try and get a piece of their own paradise.

Wary of the people coming after them, the Quattour Frater split the gold between themselves and hid it; leaving what little hadn't been dug up behind. When the tales of gold had finally reached the ears of their respective heads of state, they were found, taken in and interrogated as to the location of the moved gold. Though not all of Quattour Frater had been caught, most of the gold had been retrieved. In fact, all of it had been retrieved, except for one.

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The Quattour Frater had come from different parts of the world and they had met, as the story goes, in a bar in the Northern Quarter. Drunken and travel weary, they all shared stories in a language that had been without a name at the time. Now it was called 'Familiaris Lingua', the intimate language; for it joined all four of the clans by giving them something constant and unchanging. Familiaris Lingua was what the 'World Law' was based on. That we as a people treat others in equality and with kinship for our language brings us together. Because in that aspect we are all the same.

These four strangers shared their dreams with one another. Day after day they met at the same bar and after a while they became close friends, bonding with one another as they had with no one else, for there was a strong sense of kinship among them; because they all had one common goal – to find gold.

The first of the brothers, Dhoruba, was from the clan of Sol Solis to the south; where he was known throughout the nation for his strong character and intelligence. He was their finest philosopher. Born to a wealthy family, he had taken to being a philanthropist, helping others as he travelled. Though he was wealthy, there was not nearly enough resource to help those who needed it. So to save his people, Dhoruba went to the lands in the north in hopes that he would find gold.

Then there was Ahanu from the clan of Animus secuutus to the west. He was known for his great instinct and his harmony with the earth. Everyone remembered him by the large colourful feather that he wore on his head and the wanderlust sparkling in his eyes. He had been honoured in his village as head chief of one of the biggest tribes in his nation, but he turned down his position to go after the gold that he had heard about so much on his travels outside of his country.

Katsuo, from the clan of Flumen Aduro to the east, was a great scientist. He was highly educated and competed with the minds of the most respected peoples of his nation. But though Katsuo was great, he was a commoner and thus had no influence. What he had worked so hard his whole life for, meant nothing unless he had the respect of his peers. Thus he went to discover the thing that brought all men respect - gold.

The last of the brothers was named Adeodatus. He was from the clan of Niveus Manuum to the north. Adeodatus was a great architect and a renowned wooer of women; his blue eyes attracted women of many lands. He was a great seducer. But aside from all of his personal ventures, he was also responsible for some of the most beautiful and architecturally genius buildings ever known to the northern civilization. Adeodatus though, was short one thing – his own home. Though he was well off, Adeodatus was never satisfied with what he had. He never had enough; and certainly not enough to build the great home that he wanted. So, the notorious Casanova made his way further north searching for untouched land and untouched gold.

Together these four men had found the Aureus de Caurus and together they had single-handedly began the largest gold hunt in the history of the world. Gold fever hit the four clans and the bonds of the peace law were strained. In the resulting siege at Caurus, two of the brothers were captured; they had come back to try to find more gold. Ahanu and Katsuo, after weeks of prodding and torture, had given up the locations of their gold deposits to the government of the Niveus Manuum clan, who had kept them imprisoned for another three years until the gold was found.

Dhoruba's gold had been found not long after that by his government. He had given them the location after he had come out of hiding – for they were all convicts in their lands. But Dhoruba had faith in his clan. They would help the people who so desperately needed. Those naïve hopes that the clan would help the people were shattered though, when he had found out that the gold had been dealt among the rich in his country. In an action of pure sorrow and hurt at his country's false interest for the people of his land, Loving Dhoruba committed suicide. And only Adeodatus was left.

The last brother alive, Adeodatus went into hiding. His gold was never found. The "Great" Adeodatus spent the rest of his life living in the caves and hollows of the Silva de Forlandi. Feeling that this was god's retribution for his greed, Adeodatus chose to become a healer. He started with a new mission. He began to plant seeds. It was his effort to replace and renew all the trees he had destroyed to build the houses and structures that he now realized weren't worth their greatness for their destruction. Eventually though, as all things must, Adeodatus had died; leaving nothing behind but his body, his journal, his forest and a longing for his secrets.

When his remains were finally found years later, his tunic holding the emblem of the great architects of Niveus Manuum, he was given a great ceremony honouring his trials. He was called 'Adeodatus Sanctus Unus' for he wrote of his change in life on the walls of his caves. The prayers he had written in his book, the only worldly thing he had left had become national prayers said only in the most sanctified of places.

The Aurum de Quattour Frater was named after each of the men who had found it that fateful day in the mines of Caurus. Dhoruba de Aurum, Ahanu de Aurum, Katsuo de Aurum, and Adeodatus de Aurum – Adeodatus' Gold.

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The Aureus Bellum had began in the year 2000, when the government in a last ditch effort, had formed criminal sects to go about and find the gold in ways that they could not publically support. One of those sects dealt with paranormals. Though many did not acknowledge it, there were supernatural elements to the world that were invaluable and could be very, very useful if manipulated correctly. Every once in a while, someone would be born with abilities that surpassed those of normal beings, these people were called the Infectus. Some could see into time, others were unnaturally strong and some had mental and intellectual abilities that even the great philosophers would envy. The government had made a force especially for the collection of these people, to help them find what was not but a fable anymore; The Adeodatus de Aurum. This political faction was called The Luminis de Umbra, The Eye of the Shadow.

She was in trouble. They were after her.

Translations

Quattour Frater– Four Brothers

Aureus Bellum – The Golden War

Media versus – Middle Line

Caurus – The northern wind (Mines of the northern wind)

Sol Solis – The Sun

Animus secuutus – Spirit Followers

Flumen Aduro – River Singers

Niveus Manuum – White hands

Silva de Forlandi – Forlandi Forest

Adeodatus Sanctus Unus – Adeodatus the Holy One

Aurum de Quattour Frater– Four Brother's Gold

Infectus – Corrupted

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AN:

Having a beta is pretty spiffy…

That's all I have to say. You know who you are beta.

Otherwise: I hope you had a great time reading this chapter and getting some background on the story. Yes it is an AU. Guys I hope you loved this chapter and I hope you stay tuned for more. Love you guys.

PS: If anyone noticed – yes, I switched some chapters around. Actually, just this one. I have now made this chapter the first. The story continues in the same order as it had before, the history is now just the first chapter as I should've had it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Keep it up. It makes me write faster. Lol.

R&R.

~~G&T~~