“The rules are simple. You get five minutes. After that time they will be sent after you. If you make it to the river and across it, you will be safe. My brothers and I will follow you in order to observe the exercise. And that is all that we are going to do. Just observe and nothing more. They are the ones you have to worry about.” The trainer pointed towards the students. “Take this.”

The trainer took out a knife and gave it to the man who looked at it uncertainly. After few seconds of hesitation he slowly took the knife, as if it was hot. He started playing with it, performing all sorts of combat moves. Finally, after a minute or so the man stopped and smiled.

“Impressive weapon. Capitolian I believe. Isn’t the one they give to their special forces? I think I’ve seen them during my service on Venus.”

“Indeed. It’s Capitolian.”

“But why not give me a Mishiman knife?”

“Mishiman knives break easily. This one is made from good, resistant steel.”

“Such concern for my safety. I feel touched.”

“Your safety or life has absolutely no importance to me. It is for them that I’m doing it. I don’t want you to be left defenseless during the exercise. That would be too easy for them. I want to test them against a well armed and well trained opponent.”

“And that opponent is of course me? Well thank you? But if you want me to be well armed, why not give me a Bauhaus knife? They make the best, well maybe except Cybertronic? Although I can’t really say because…”

“Bauhausers produce short and heavy knives.” The trainer interrupted the man with a visible anger. It was apparent that this whole discussion was getting on his nerves. “They are good for piercing armor, but rather bad for hand-to-hand combat. This one is light, long, and very good for fast movements. Speed is what you will need most when facing them.”

“True, but some of their special units get these knives that…”

“Shut up! My patience is running short. You were not brought here to discuss knives. You will fight with the one I gave you, or you will fight barehanded. The choice is yours.”

“Hey, it’s cool. I don’t mind. I was just trying to make a friendly conversation here.”

“Do you have any other questions? Questions not concerning knives?”

“No, not really.”

“Then lets begin.” The trainer pulled out a timer from his pocked. “As I said, you have five minutes. Go!”

* * *

Sato observed the whole incident in silence. So far he managed to remain calm, but when the countdown started adrenaline began invading his system. He could see that the rest of students felt the same way. They were becoming more nervous with every second. This was not his first hunt. So far he took part in twelve of them. He even managed to score two kills.

It all started a year ago. Once per month all students were assembled and sent to kill someone. The ‘prey’ was so far made of kidnapped criminals. Sato didn’t know much about them. No one did, except for those who were responsible for their ‘recruitment.’ The students were only told that the men were all vicious killers who had no problem with murdering women and children. This was supposed to serve as a motivation for the recruits.

Sato never managed to understand why so much emphasis was placed on the fact that these men were killers. For him it had no importance whatsoever. Once the hunt started, he did his best to eliminate them not because of their crimes, but because he received orders to kill them. Besides, Shadow Walkers killed women and children as well. The target’s identity was of no importance. An order was an order.

“I bet you that Yoshi will have this one.”

The words came from Utsu. The two didn’t know each other very well. Sato was surprised that the boy was addressing him. They were in the same group for the past ten years, and during that time they exchanged only few words. Both were loners by nature. Still, Sato didn’t really mind a little discussion. He needed something to take his mind away from the hunt.

“You were saying?”

“Yoshi is going to kill this one.”

Sato looked at Yoshi who was standing at the other end of the group, as usual, surrounded by his little gang. He was whispering something to them, smiling all the time. As always, they were smiling as well. They always mimicked their leader. Sato asked himself sometimes if they had any remnants of free will left in their little brains. So far, they rarely showed it in Yoshi’s presence.

But going back to Utsu’s comment, the boy was probably right. Yoshi was a natural born killer. He enjoyed violence and inflicting pain. Out of the twelve hunts, he scored seven kills. He really loved the thrill of the hunt; the pleasure of chasing the pray; smell of fear and the satisfaction of delivering the final blow.

And this hunt was special. They were told that their prey was very experienced. The man served few years in Venusian jungles where he proved his worth fighting Mishima’s enemies. He was kicked out of the army for some reason; the students didn’t know why and they didn’t care. With fighting being his only skill, he sold his services to the triads where he made a name for himself on the streets. So far, the man was their most difficult opponent. Every hunt offered more and more difficult targets. Sato heard once a rumor that the final hunt involved a KI master.

Of course, it mattered little to Sato who the prey is and who is going to kill it. He himself never felt any pleasure from killing. For him it was nothing more than an exercise. True, he did feel satisfaction when he managed to eliminate the target, but it came from the fact that he achieved the highest score in the exercise. He felt the same satisfaction whenever he achieved good results in practice shooting or when practicing martial arts. The act of killing had nothing to do with it.

This was not the case with Yoshi. He liked challenges and killing people. The more difficult it was to kill the prey, the more pleasure he felt. And since this man was reputed to be so good, Yoshi made it his sworn duty to kill him.

Sato was about to say to Utsu that he was probably right, when he noticed that Yoshi looked at Katsumi. It was just a quick glance, but it was enough for Sato to feel anger boiling inside. That asshole stared at Katsumi the same way a man stares at a pretty object that he wants to play with until he grows bored and finds himself a new toy. This made Sato really mad. Katsumi was very beautiful. Plus, she was his only friend. The fact that Yoshi, that sick piece of shit, was interested in her as well enraged him.

“No he won’t.”

“What?” asked Utsu.

“I said that he will not score a kill today,” Sato replied with anger and conviction in his voice, staring at Yoshi as if he was trying to kill him with his gaze.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“All right. Why don’t we make a bet?” These words were so surprising that Sato forgot about his anger and turned to face Utsu.

“A bet?”

“Yes. Why not? Let’s see. Oh, I know. If Yoshi kills that man, then for the next two weeks you will give me half of your meals.”

Sato smiled. Utsu was well known for his appetite. He was always able to devour his meals in record time, but for some reason it was never enough for him. Unfortunately, they all received the same rations without a possibility of getting more. For this reason Utsu was always looking for more food. He became known as “are you eating that?” man. So far he was disciplined four times for sneaking into the kitchen at night and stealing food. If it weren’t for constant physical training, he would be very fat by now.

“I agree. You will get half of my food if you win.”

Utsu licked his lips. His eyes became immediately lost somewhere in the distance. Most probably he was already thinking about all that extra food he will get.

“But what if you loose? What if Yoshi fails today?”

“Well, what do you want?”

That was a good question. Utsu didn’t have anything that Sato desired. However, something mean came to his mind.

“I know. If you loose, then for the next two weeks you will be the one who will give me half of your food,” Sato replied as he saw fear grow Utsu’s eyes.

“That’s not fair.”

“How come me giving you half of my food is fair, but you giving me half of yours isn’t?”

“But you don’t need that much food.”

“Actually, suddenly I felt very hungry. I think that I will need more food than usual for… I don’t know. Say… two weeks. Do you accept the terms of the bet?”

Utsu clenched his fists. He looked like a little kid who was angry and tried his best not to show it.

“Oh, please. Don’t you have any faith in Yoshi?”

Utsu started looking at Yoshi and back at Sato. After few seconds of this he finally relaxed. A little smile appeared on his lips.

“I agree. No one can beat Yoshi.”

Sato now looked at Yoshi again. His anger returned.

“I can.”

* * *

“Killing is an exercise. Killing another human being forces you to compete with the most dangerous and intelligent creature in the Solar System – man.” The words from the sacred texts invaded Sato’s mind. “Every kill, even if you use exactly the same method is different. You learn something every time.” Only ten minutes passed since the hunt began, but it seemed like hours for him. “You might feel pity for your target. If you overcome it, then with every kill pity will grow weaker and weaker, until it disappears completely. Pity and other emotions such as compassion and love make what is called conscience. Conscience is your enemy. It will prevent you from doing certain things. If you master and then eliminate your conscience, all roads will become open to you.”

Sato was in a trance. It was called the “hunt mind.” It was a state in which a Shadow Walker concentrated fully on tracking and/or observing his target. Sato’s senses were sharpened through the strength of his will to a superhuman level. He looked more like an animal rather than a human being. He moved in a crouched position, keeping his eyes on the ground. Sometimes he run, sometimes he stood motionless for a long time. Once in a while he raised his head as high as he could and sniffed at the air like a dog.

A stranger observing Sato from the distance would probably say that the boy was either insane, or under influence of drugs, but the young Shadow Walker knew what he was doing. His incredibly sharp senses registered things that no human could possibly do. Even now, he was able to feel the scent oh his prey, barely. The man was far away, but he was there nevertheless, and Sato was getting closer. However, his nose detected that there were others who were even closer to the prey, Yoshi among them.

Although Sato could smell few other students, Yoshi was the only one who concerned him. He hated him so much. The idea of that disgusting bully succeeding one more time in a hunt enraged him. Sato personally didn’t care at all about the prey and even his bet with Utsu. His only desire was to anger Yoshi by preventing him from scoring a kill. It mattered little to him, who will succeed in today’s hunt, as long as it was not Yoshi.

Sato tried to move faster. The man tried to trick his pursuers by changing direction. Everyone taught that he will run west, straight towards the river, but he was too clever for that. Instead, he went south. He hoped that the students would be stupid enough to run past him, while he would manage to leave the area and make his way to the river much later. The trick did work for some of the students, but a few of them could not be fooled easily. Apparently, just like with Sato, their sense of smell was just too good.

Few additional minutes passed. Sato could now hear the man. For the moment the sound of his footsteps was very weak, but it was growing stronger as the distance between them shortened. Sato’s heart, already beating quite fast, started pounding faster and faster. Maybe he will be the one who kills the man. If so, he will wipe that smile from Yoshi’s face.

The sound of man’s footsteps stooped, and so did Sato. What happened? Did the man stop? Obviously he did, but why? Was he attacked? Had Yoshi caught the target?

There was a short silence followed by a scream. The sound of footsteps resumed. Sato started running. Not slowly and carefully, but as fast as he could. He soon smelled blood, and shortly afterwards he found its source.

“I really screwed up.”

“Don’t talk.”

“He surprised me. Can you believe it? I was running and he hid behind a tree.”

“Don’t talk. Let me examine the wound.”

“He jumped from behind me. I dodged him at first, but he was good, very good. I underestimated him. It was a double screw up, I guess.

“Utsu, shut up! You are only wasting energy.”

Sato examined the wound. It was deep and very serious, but fortunately not deadly. However, it could easily lead to death without quick medical treatment.

“I’ve seen Yoshi passing by a minute ago. That fucking asshole didn’t even stopped to check on me. May the Darkness eat his soul.”

“Yoshi cares only about one person, and that person is himself,” replied Sato.

“True. Go.”

“What?”

“Go and kill that bastard before Yoshi gets to him first. I’ll be alright.”

“I will not leave you here. And you will not be all right. Your wound is serious, and stop talking.”

Sato took off his shirt and pressed it to the wound in order to stop, or at least slow down the bleeding.

“You are very nice, but I assure you…”

“I assure you that arguing with me is pointless! I will not abandon you. A Shadow Walker never abandons his brothers and sisters, unless it is absolutely necessary. I don’t see such necessity.”

“It is necessary. Our target is getting away. Don’t forget that the elimination of the target has priority over the lives of fellow teammates.”

“Yoshi will handle it.”

“But he’s an asshole.”

“That does not matter. You life is more important than my personal desire to piss him off.”

Suddenly, a third person joined the argument. “I also think that you should go.” It was Katsumi. Both boys jumped, surprised by her voice. Well, actually only Sato did. Utsu was too weak for jumping.

“How long you’ve been there.”

“Only few seconds. How is he?”

“Bad.”

Katsumi sat next to Utsu and delicately removed the bloody shirt.

“It’s bad, but not hopeless.”

“We must inform the monastery,” said Sato.

“No need. Don’t forget that the trainers are watching us. I’m sure that they already sent for a technomancer.”

There was a short, sad silence. Both of them were looking at Utsu. He closed his eyes and was breathing with difficulty. Big drops of sweat appeared on his forehead.

“Sato, you must go.”

“Not you too.”

“Look, it only take one person to hold that shirt to his wound, and I can do that as well as you. Your presence here won’t help him. But there is still a chance of getting the target before Yoshi does.”

Sato looked into Katsumi’s eyes. He wanted to object, but he realized that it was of no use. Without a word he stood up and turned around. He was about to leave, but he stopped and looked at Katsumi again.

“Katsumi? Why it is so important to you? I mean, me beating Yoshi.”

She lowered her eyes. “Because I like you, and I don’t like him.”

Sato turned away and started running. He tried not to smile, but he just couldn’t help himself.

* * *

Where were they? Where was Yoshi? Where was the target? Sato lost both of them. He slowed down and started searching the ground for any traces of them. He soon found it. It was a small plant stomped into the ground. Obviously, someone moved by here recently.

Sato sat down and closed his. He tried to enter the “hunt mind” again, but there was too much turmoil inside him. His feelings were raging like a sea in a storm. He was worried about the hunt. He worried that Yoshi will win again. He was also thinking about Utsu. Will he die? What about Katsumi? What are her feelings for him? The more he tried to calm these feelings, the stronger they became.

His struggle was abruptly stopped when he felt a hand touching his shoulder. His reaction came within a split of a second. He immediately jumped forwards, turning around in the midair and landed assuming defensive position, facing the attacker. However, the attacker was not really an attacker.

It was Yoshi. He smiled. “Nice reflexes. It’s a shame that they kicked in only after I came close enough to touch you. If I were our target, you would be dead by now.

“Where is he?” Sato asked. His voice was extremely cold. He still maintained defensive stance.

“Very close. He’s hiding, moving slowly only from time to time. You know, it’s quite funny. I think that he is actually hunting us. Can’t say I blame him. He did after all gut that fatso. He probably thinks that we are all as pathetic as that fat kid.”

“His name is Utsu, and you did nothing to help him.”

“Of course I didn’t. The target has priority over our lives. Killing is always more important that saving lives. Especially if we are talking about the life of some fat idiot.”

Sato sensed that the last words were a provocation. He managed to hide his anger. In fact, he retained enough self-control to make a witty remark.

“If the target is so important, then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there chasing him instead of sneaking on me? Or maybe you are afraid?”

The smile vanished from Yoshi’s face. He answered with some detectable dose of anger in his voice. “I already told you that he is hiding somewhere close. I heard you coming and I thought that perhaps it was him.”

“Then why did you sneak up on me?”

The smile returned to Yoshi’s face. It was even bigger than before. “My dear, I didn’t sneak up on you. I was coming towards you. You must have been so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t notice me. I’m very sorry if I scared you. If you want, I can pretend that I’m your mother, so that you can cry on my shoulder.” Sarcasm was just overflowing from Yoshi’s mouth.

“Lets find this guy and finish this.” Sato felt that he must immediately stop this discussion, or they both will end up fighting each other.

They followed the tracks moving slowly and with great caution. They didn’t want to miss anything. After few minutes their efforts were rewarded with the sound of a broken branch somewhere to their left. They both turned in that direction hoping to spot their target. Unfortunately, they were unaware of the fact that the sound did not came from the man, but from a stone he threw in that direction in order to distract them – the oldest trick in the world.

He jumped from behind them, moving faster than lightning. The boys jumped to the side, avoiding the attacker just in time. The man engaged Yoshi. It was clear that he knew how to use a knife. His movements were quick and precise. Yoshi tried to approach the attacker looking for an opening, but the knife was slicing the air in front of him making attack impossible. Yoshi had no choice but to constantly retreat, often avoiding the blade only by a split second.

Sato observed the situation. For a second he actually toyed with the idea of letting them fight, hoping that Yoshi would end up dead. He quickly abandoned that idea. Not that he cared about Yoshi. Far from that, he wanted to see the asshole die with all his heart, but he knew that the trainers were watching. Sentencing Yoshi to death would mean the end of his own life as well. Sato was not ready to sacrifice himself just to eliminate Yoshi.

He picked up a stone and threw it at the man. The attacker dodged the missile, but by doing so he opened himself to Yoshi. The boy moved in. With one hand he grabbed the man’s right hand which held the knife. The other hand struck the man in the throat. The attacker dropped the knife and grabbed his throat. Yoshi gave out a cry of victory, but it was too soon. Apparently, Yoshi’s attack was not as effective as he thought, or maybe the man was just very resistant to pain. He suddenly kicked Yoshi and tried to pick up his knife, still holding his throat with his left hand.

Sato moved in quickly. He put his foot on the man’s hand as he was picking up the knife. He then thrust his right knee in his opponent’s face. The man fell back leaving the knife on the ground. Sato picked it up, but Yoshi then struck him in the back. Sato fell to the ground in pain and surprise. Within a second Yoshi took the knife and jumped on the man, plunging the blade repeatedly into his body.

He stopped after few seconds and stood up. There was an enormous smile on his face. He was breathing rapidly. It was obvious that he really, really enjoyed what just happened.

“That was a good one. I like the fight he put up.”

Sato also stood up, although with some difficulty. The pain in his back was still very intense, but it was growing weaker with every second.

“Yoshi come here.”

Both boys were completely surprised by the voice. It came from the trainer. He was standing there in front of them, but they were unable to say from where he came from. It was almost as if he materialized out of nowhere. Knowing what kind of powers senior Shadow walkers possessed, it was quite possible that he indeed appeared out of nowhere.

Yoshi approached the trainer still full of joy. He expected to be congratulated.

“Give me your knife.”

Yoshi handed the bloody weapon to the trainer. Immediately, with a movement so fast that it was almost unnoticeable, the trainer slashed Yoshi’s face. The boy retreated. His eyes were opened wide. He was clearly in a state of shock. Not from pain, but because of the fact that he was punished.

“Master, what did I do to deserve this!?”

“Are you really so stupid that you must ask.”

“But I eliminated the target! Isn’t that the most important thing?”

“No! What matters is to eliminate the target, and not who does it. You attacked your comrade just to satisfy your pride. Not only that but you risked severely injuring Sato with your attack, and endangered both of you. While you were attacking Sato, your target had time to recover his forces and counterattack. He could kill you and then finish off defenseless Sato. Defenseless thanks to you.”

“But that’s not what happened. He was on the ground.”

“Come here.”

Yoshi froze. He sensed that it was in his best interest to stay where he was.

“I said, come here!” This time the trainer didn’t bother to hide his anger.

Yoshi realized that by refusing to obey he was only making things worse. He came closer, resolved to accept whatever was awaiting him.

What awaited him was a punch in the nose. He fell back. Sato couldn’t see if his nose was broken, but he was bleeding heavily. Sato felt pleasure observing the whole situation. Yoshi’s pain was bringing joy to Sato’s heart. He felt ashamed a little bit, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Just because he didn’t kill you, it does not mean that he couldn’t. You can never be certain what will happen. Anyone can kill you, providing that he is given a chance. Today you did provided that chance to your enemy. It was only luck that saved you. Luck always runs out. Smart people don’t rely on luck. Smart people live long.”

There was a long silence. Yoshi tried to stop the bleeding all the while doing his best avoid trainer’s piercing gaze. Finally, the silence was broken.

“Go back to the monastery, both of you. And Yoshi, you will be punished again, in front of all the students.”

The two boys started walking. Yoshi looked at Sato. There was nothing but pure hate in his eyes. Apparently, he blamed Sato for his humiliation. As for Sato, there was a sea of mixed emotions raging in his head. He was happy that Yoshi got humiliated, but angry that he managed to score a kill nevertheless. Plus, as if it was not enough, he blamed Sato for everything. This meant a lot of trouble in the future.

At one moment both of them looked into each other eyes. At this moment, they both understood that this was the beginning of a very deep and intensive hatred. They didn’t like each other, but now their childish dislike was replaced with mature hatred. They were mortal enemies.

Something was telling Sato that this will last for many years, and that only the death of one of them will bring an end to it.

Shadow Walkers are a small society that follows its own unique and distinctive philosophy. This philosophy was developed over the past few centuries, and it continues to evolve up to this day. I think that of all things concerning the Shadow Walkers, their outlook on life is the most fascinating topic. It’s a pity that we don’t have time to discuss it at length.

I will try to provide you with a quick overview of their beliefs. Keep in mind that what you will hear is nothing more than a very brief summary. Due to the short time we have, I will talk only about the most important things. And I will avoid going into details, unless I decide that it is absolutely necessary. But don’t worry. Once I’m done, you will have a good understanding of the Shadow Walkers and their goals.

To begin, their philosophy is concerned with three major topics, or questions if you prefer, and many other lesser things. The first major topic, the most important one, is the individual and his personal growth and development. Shadow Walkers constantly try to improve themselves on three levels (physical, mental and spiritual), and figuring out how to do it is their main preoccupation.

Killing is a sub-topic of the individual development. It is one of many lesser questions in their philosophy, but it is the most important one among these lesser questions. This is due to the fact assassination is their main occupation and their way of living.

The second great topic is the perfect society. Shadow Walkers dream of one day taking over Mishima, and later all of humanity, and creating a better world. Of course, just how this new better society will look like is still discussed among their intellectuals.

Finally, the third aspect seeks to combine the two first philosophical questions by asking how an individual can function within a society. Shadow Walkers are very concerned with both individualism and communalism. Making these two opposite ideas work together is a great challenge to their philosophers.

Oh, and remind me at the end to slip few words about their religious beliefs. Or rather lack of any religious beliefs.

What does an average Shadow Walker want from life? The answer to this question is quite simple. An average Shadow Walker wants what we all want – happiness.

You are surprised, aren’t you? You were probably thinking they crave power, wealth, mastery over Ki, or that they simply take pleasure in killing and want to kill as many people as possible. The funny thing is that many of them do desire these things. But you see they want them because it is their belief that this will bring them happiness. Let me explain.

When it comes to human nature, philosophers and psychologists disagree on pretty much everything, except a few things. One thing on which they are all willing to agree is that the ultimate goal of every human being is to seek pleasure and happiness. Of course, most people don’t think like that. Rather than pursuing vague ideas such as happiness or comfort, they have more or less precise goals in life. These goals can be anything. Some want wealth, power, glory, fame, prestige, respect, joining the Darkness and becoming some sort of immortal creature in the service of Dark Legion, or simply having a family and a nice house in the countryside. Usually what they want is a combination of these things, although becoming a Dark Legion creature and that part about a family and a house don’t combine very well. (That was a joke.) However, in the final analysis, what people truly want are not these things, but the happiness they are supposed to bring.

Indeed, it is that simple. People want happiness. Do you want to be a happy person? Yes, of course you do. So do I. Anyway, Shadow Walkers know that in the end it all comes down to happiness. They, just as we all, want to be happy. But you see, instead of selecting goals that are supposed to make them happy, they aim directly for happiness. How? Basically, by developing and improving three aspects present in every human being. They seek physical, mental and spiritual happiness, or wellbeing if you prefer. Achieving happiness in all of these three aspects lead to the Ultimate Happiness and enlightenment, which is the Holy Grail of all Shadow Walkers.

Body
Physical wellbeing is the easiest and the least important to achieve. Don’t get a false impression. When I’m saying that it is the least important, I mean comparatively to the other two aspects. All by itself, it is very important.

But just what is this physical happiness. Obviously, it means having a healthy body in great shape. Disease and weakness can and do cause suffering. To avoid them, you must take care of your body. Plus, physical endurance is necessary for certain meditation techniques.

As I said before, the physical aspect is the easiest one to develop. All you have to do is to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet. Nature will take care of the rest. Besides, starting from early childhood, Shadow Walkers go through intense training. By the time they reach adolescence, they are able to match corporate special forces in both physical aptitude and combat knowledge. There is also the fact they are improved with Biotechnology, which makes them superhuman.

As you can see, physical happiness is something that all Shadow Walkers achieve automatically. Many take it for granted. However, the idea that a healthy body is necessary for happiness is so “engraved” into their psychology that even the Technomancers and the Elders regularly exercise and do everything in their power to remain in good shape.

Cases of bodily abuse, like alcoholism and drug addiction, are virtually unknown among the Shadow Walkers. This does not mean that they stay away from alcohol, junk food and even drugs. But they will never indulge in these things to the point of destroying their health.

Mind
Nature was kind enough to equip man with the most powerful weapon of all – intelligence. Shadow Walkers realize that our human mind is the most important tool at their disposal. They want that tool to be in the best possible condition and they strive all the time to improve it.

A good Shadow Walker should be intelligent and capable of abstract thinking. The more intelligent you are, the more powerful you are. However, intelligence is not everything. Intelligence must be combined with imagination. Computers are intelligent, but they lack imagination and the ability to think about abstract things. That’s why in the end computers are little more than sophisticated calculators, while we humans are living beings with an infinite number of possibilities open to us.

Indeed, Shadow Walkers believe that humans can evolve into something more powerful. However, to do so, a person need an open mind functioning at is maximum efficiency, to use a technical term.

How is all of this achieved? By training of course. Shadow Walkers are convinced that the mind, just like the body, can be improved through training. Young recruits are taught philosophy starting from the age of six. It is believed that philosophy is the best exercise possible for a young brain. The students are presented with the Shadow Philosophy and shown how great it is. Surprisingly, they are also familiarized with beliefs of other great thinkers, including non-Mishiman philosophers. This might seem illogical. Presenting the young Shadow Walkers with different beliefs might cause them to embrace these ideas. Thus breaking their loyalty to the organization. Ha! Maybe that would happen if the Shadow Walkers were stupid, but they’re not.

All of these philosophical theories are presented in such a way as to ridicule and prove them wrong. This is done by clever teachers and by omitting certain details. Details that might otherwise make these theories much more difficult to discredit. Certain aspects of these theories are presented as intelligent and good, (Especially if the aspects in question give strength to Shadow Walkers’ beliefs.) but the rest is disqualified as wrong. Basically, all those great thinkers are presented as a bunch of guys who got few things right, but they screwed up the rest. Then, the Shadow Philosophy is introduced as the one true philosophy. The Shadow Walkers do not go as far as to say that their beliefs are perfect and that the Shadow Philosophy has answers to everything. Yet, they do consider it to be the best philosophy created by humanity so far.

Of course, once the Shadow Walkers are allowed to leave the peaceful walls of a monastery and travel to one of the cities, they enter into contact with completely new ideas. The old philosophies, the ones that were ridiculed, are presented to them in a new light. Those Shadow Walkers who still maintain an interest in philosophy, a minority in reality, read previously non-available books and even go so far as challenge Mishiman sages to philosophical duels. In other words, they are exposed to ideas that can’t be controlled anymore by their superiors.

This is not a problem. By the time a Shadow Walker is allowed to go to a city, he is so brainwashed and used to living according to the rules of his organization that there is almost no risk of him turning renegade. And as I said before, most of them are not interested in continuing their philosophical education anyway.

I spent a lot of time talking about philosophical training because this is the most important training. However, it is not the only form of training. The students are frequently challenged with riddles and puzzles. Math is an important subject taught to children. Mathematical problems develop reasoning abilities and logical thinking. Aside from that, they are also involved in all sorts of intellectual games such as chess and poker.

I’m sure that you will be surprised to hear that art has a very important place in the education of the young Shadow Walkers. The students are introduced to poetry, painting, sculpture and other forms of art. This is supposed to develop their imagination and free their spirit. Art is also very important in their spiritual training, but I will talk about that a little bit later.

Take note that the mental training is very important not just for ideological reasons, but also because it has a practical use. Shadow Walkers are assassins. And any assassin will tell you that a good brain is more important and useful than all the guns in the world. Shadow Walkers are the best killers in the Solar System. Do you know why? It is not due to their combat abilities. It’s because they are so damn smart and experienced. Their mental training does wonders whenever a Shadow Walker must make a complicated plan on the spot. They always manage to come up with some ingenious idea, trick or combat maneuver. Well, almost always.

Soul
Spirituality is without doubt the most important issue in the Shadow Philosophy. In fact, nothing, and I repeat, nothing has such importance as spiritual happiness. Ironically, despite its importance, it is the vaguest and least explained part of Shadow Walkers’ beliefs.

This lack of detailed explanation is in large part deliberate. As I mentioned before, Shadow Walkers strive for ultimate happiness. The ultimate happiness is achieved by obtaining physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Only by combining these three one will become ultimately happy. However, the spiritual happiness is the most important. Think about it. Somebody can have a body of a god and a mind of a super genius, but he can still live an unhappy life. On the other hand, being spiritually happy is the greatest blessing one can obtain from life. If you are a happy person, and I mean genuinely happy, your physical and mental weakness will not diminish your happiness by any significant extent.

While the importance of spiritual wellbeing is obvious to all, the exact way of achieving it is not. The reason is simple. Spiritual happiness varies from individual to individual. We can assign criteria by which we can measure physical and mental performance, but this is not the case with spirituality. What makes one man happy can make another suffer.

It is recognized that spiritual happiness can’t be developed by a specific set of exercises. It is purely personal. As one Shadow Walker philosopher once said: “It is left to each man to find the road and decide how to walk it.”

Still, few centuries of study and observation produced certain general guidelines. Finding and walking the road can be personal, but others can give you advice on how to do it.

If this advice could be resumed in few words, it would say: “Know, control and expand yourself.” Sounds nice. But what does it mean?

The knowing part applies to understanding what one truly wants in life and what will make him happy. This, of course, is very personal. It is up to everybody to discover for himself. However, much emphasis is put on being absolutely sure that what you want is truly the thing that will bring you happiness. Mistakes can have sad consequences.

Just look at the world. Society tells people that certain things are desirable. For example, wealth and power are supposed to be good. And you know what, they certainly do seem that way. Wouldn’t you like to be filthy rich? Wouldn’t you like to live in a huge palace like a Daimyo? Or maybe own our own asteroid? How about having power? Imagine commanding thousands upon thousands of men. You smile. Yes, there is certain appeal to that.

But I’m sure that you heard stories about men, and women, who led unhappy lives despite having all of that. In fact, sometimes they suffered precisely because of their wealth and power. Apparently, some people discover that what was supposed to bring them happiness, in reality brings only pain.

Shadow Walkers are encouraged, very strongly, to be one hundred percent confident that what they desire is the right thing for them.

How do they acquire this confidence? How do you know what you want in life? You think about it, and so do they. Some write down what they like and try to pick the things that they would like to further develop in life. Some contemplate their future while doing their chores. Others meditate in reclusive places. And there are many others who do something completely different.

There is really no pressure about what they should choose. When I was speaking before, I criticized power and wealth. I personally spit at such things, but many embrace them. If a Shadow Walker thinks that money will bring him true happiness, so be it. If he prefers to write poetry and discuss politics with his friends over herbal tea, then good for him.

What? Of course. You brought up an interesting point. What if someone’s goal in life brings him into conflict with the rest of the organization? This is rare. Shadow Walkers are brainwashed right from the moment of their recruitment into loving and respecting the organization. Very few of them challenge the people who raised them. Those who do face a lot of pressure to correct their “wrong ways” and to “go back to the right path.” Still, as long as they don’t do anything that is against the law, they will be tolerated, although barely. Most of the troublemakers are sent to suicide missions.

Yes, it is a violation of one’s individuality and lack of respect for their choices, but the happiness of the community is more important than happiness of a single person.

Knowing yourself is the first step. Controlling yourself is the second. Shadow Walkers insist on control of emotions and desires. While it is important to know what you want, controlling yourself in your attempts to achieve it is equally crucial.

There are so many examples of people who tried to accomplish something, but failed because they were too impatient and hasty. The lesson that one should learn from those unfortunate people is that patience and self-restraint are two extremely important virtues. Shadow Walkers certainly agree with that. The younger members are encouraged to act slowly and with great deal of planning. “Be patient,” is what they hear all the time.

“Nothing in excess,” is another statement that is drilled into their heads over and over again. As you probably know, even those who do get whatever they desired might find out that they sacrificed so much to achieve their goal that in the end it was not worth it.

The same goes for the Shadow Walkers. There is a lot of emphasis put on the fact that they should avoid giving up too much in their quest for happiness. They also should not ask for too much. Those who lust after something are never satisfied. The more they get, the more they want. With time it turns into a vicious circle that eventually destroys them. This fate is something that should be avoided at all cost. They are few things in the world that are more pathetic than a man who is a slave to his passions.

Aside from all that, Shadow Walkers teach control over emotions in general. No, they do not deny their emotions and push them deep inside where their voice can’t be heard. Shadow Walkers teach discipline, not denial. They do recognize their emotions, but they are taught to never allow their emotions to take possession of one’s judgment. Interestingly, they fully acknowledge that while one’s feelings should never control reason, they can be allowed to influence it.

I know that this might be confusing. Let me elaborate. You see, according to their belief a lot of what we do, we do precisely because of our emotions. There is nothing wrong with that. It is natural. It is human. Thus, one should always be aware of his feelings and act upon them, unless there is a good reason why he shouldn’t.

However, even while acting upon your emotions, it is still necessary to do so rationally. Your emotions are your motivation and even a source of strength, but it is the rational mind that must perform all your actions. For example, if someone wronged you, it is normal to seek vengeance. Your anger drives you towards hatred against the person who hurt you. It is natural that you feel the need to hurt that person in return. Pain, anger and hatred motivate you and provide you with necessary strength to carry out your vengeance. However, the question here is how will you avenge yourself. Will you loose control over yourself and simply attack that person? Or will you keep your calm and plan your move, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike? Both methods can fail or succeed. But the later is preferred because the chance of success is at its greatest.

Shadow Walkers have a saying that can sum it all. “Follow your heart, but use your brain.” Of course, there is a limit to this approach. If there is very good reason why the voice of the heart should not be followed, then it is expected from a Shadow Walker to control himself. In the end, reason conquers all.

And now we come to the last part. We talked, or rather I talked about knowing and controlling. Now, we are going to finish with the expanding part.

Shadow Walkers believe that humanity as a whole is evolving into something more advanced. The process is extremely slow, but it is taking place nevertheless. In the end, according to the Shadow Walkers, humans will become something that can be only called “godlike.” Of course, this will take many millennia, but it will eventually happen. Some effects of this evolution can be already perceived. Some people manage to master strange powers in the form of Art, Ki and psionics. There is some evidence that these abilities were already present in certain humans even before the Exodus, but those gifted individuals were so few in number that their abilities were dismissed as fairy tales by most. Yet, with time, these powers became more common.

For Shadow Walkers this is a sign that humanity is going through a next step in its evolution. However, they also believe that gifted individuals can hasten this process and achieve higher form of existence. After all, some people try their whole life to master supernatural abilities and achieve absolutely nothing, while others do it with ease. Therefore, it is possible to rise above a mere mastery of Art or Ki and develop abilities that reach far beyond.

And how is all of this supposed to be achieved? Through a lot of meditation and soul searching. Young Shadow Walkers are trained to look inside themselves and explore their spiritual side. They spend a lot of time meditating and trying to learn Ki. If they do learn it, then they work hard to master it beyond human belief. Interestingly, they are also introduced to various forms of art. They practice poetry, sculpture, singing, pottery and many other things. It is believed that art opens human spirit to “higher realms of existence.”

Of course, spiritual training it not restricted to the young recruits. It is an important part of Shadow Walkers’ culture. They try to achieve higher form of existence until death. The training never ends. As far as I know none of them became a god, but over the past few centuries a couple of them mastered Ki to the levels you can’t even imagine. They even developed strange new powers. Looks like all this spiritual training does serve something after all.

Murder
What is that the Shadow Walkers do? They kill people. Why? Because they earn their living that way. That is a simple answer. But life is rarely that simple.

Killing is the one single activity around which the life of every Shadow Walker rotates. Because of this, a certain system of beliefs emerged over the past centuries that try to justify killing. You probably think that murder comes naturally to them. After all, someone raised among assassins will not have a problem killing people. You are probably right to some extent, but only to some extent.

Killing does cause a problem for some of them. They want to know why it is necessary for them to take the lives of other people. Explanations such as “because it our way” or “because you do what we tell you” are not accepted by all.

This does not mean that the whole issue of killing causes great unrest among them. Actually, it doesn’t cause any unrest at all. Most of the Shadow Walkers are brainwashed into accepting their role as assassins. Some even come to like it. Still, there are always those who need a little bit of philosophical convincing.

First, Shadow Walkers, like most Mishimans, believe in reincarnation. Thus, when they kill someone, no permanent harm is done. The Great Karmic Circle(1) will give everyone’s spirit a chance to live again somewhere in the future.

Second, it’s not as if their victims are innocent virgins, or something like that. Shadow Walkers are always hired to eliminate powerful men and women who are up to their neck in all sorts of questionable dealings. Most of them have blood on their hands, and a lot of it. Those people are to be despised, not pitted.

Despite all of this, some still question killing. Reincarnation does not make murder a good thing. And while a majority of targets are amoral people, innocents are killed too. Not all assassinations are “clean.” Targets are often surrounded by bodyguards, servants, family members and people who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes they get killed as well. And don’t forget that politics can be vicious, especially in Mishima. Sometimes entire families must be wiped out. Not a pleasant job.

This is the part when philosophy gets involved. Shadow Walkers do recognize that people; at least most of them have some sort of an instinct that tells them that harming other people is wrong. Whether this instinct is inborn or learned by living in the society, is still a mystery. And it is not important for the purpose of our discussion.

Remember when I was talking about the relationship between reason and emotions and how you should never allow your feelings to take over you? Good, because it applies to this case. Empathy is considered to be an emotion. Therefore, it can’t be allowed to control someone’s actions. Yes, I remember saying that Shadow Walkers are told to follow the voice of their heart, but the idea is that they should never do it if there is a good reason why they should restrain themselves. Killing is such a case. There is a very good reason why you should kill. It is good for the organization. Shadow Walkers do not think about themselves as secret organization. They consider themselves to be a family. Murder is the way by which this family can sustain itself and prosper. By refusing to kill, you are harming the family that loves you and who raised you. Your individual desires must be sacrificed for the well being of the family.

But this still can be viewed as unsatisfactory. So there is another approach. Mercy, aside from being an emotion, is a great weakness. Weakness must be eliminated. By eliminating it you become stronger. Life is harsh, and if you are strong, then it will be easier for you to achieve your goals.

I know that it sounds very harsh, and it actually is, but this lack of empathy is limited only to enemies. You should be kind and merciful towards your friends and other Shadow Walkers. Even outsiders who are not on the hit list should be treated with some sympathy. However, there is no mercy for enemies. They must die.

I do not want you to get an impression that those Shadow Walkers who have problems with killing are brutally ordered to change or face execution. Deathbringers (They are responsible for organizing assassinations.) know their men very well. They will not send someone who has a problem with killing to murder women and children. The chances of such a person botching the mission are just too great. Instead, such a person will be assigned to execution of evil (by Shadow Walker standards) people. Killing a corrupt Daimyo (As if there were any other Daimyo) who has death of thousands on his conscience (As if Daimyo have such a thing as conscience) is not the same as slaughtering innocent children. The idea here is that the Shadow Walker in question will grow more accustomed to killing and will slowly move from evil to innocent people.

And I also do not want you to get the impression that Shadow Walkers teach that murder is fun and that it is all right to kill whoever you want whenever you feel like it. Killing must be limited to outsiders and self-defense. It is absolutely unacceptable to kill a fellow Shadow Walker, unless he committed a crime that calls for the death penalty. And as for killing outsiders, it should be limited to situations when this is absolutely necessary. Shadow Walkers might feel contempt for certain people, (like Daimyo, samurais, Demon Hunters or Inquisitors) but the rest of humanity is not that bad and it is sad that sometimes innocents have to die. But that comes with the job. Unpleasant things must be done for the good of the family.

(1)

The Great Karmic Circle is the force (whether it is mindless, semi-intelligent or intelligent is still a hot topic of debate among Mishiman theologians) that is supposed to be in charge of reincarnations. A living person accumulates Karma during her life. The Karma is both positive and negative in nature. Negative Karma is accumulated through evil deeds, while positive Karma comes from good actions. After death, the Great Karmic Circle measures the amount of both Karma in the soul and keeps the soul in the Underworld until all Karma is purged. Once this is done, the soul is reincarnated and starts its life again. If someone has way too much of one type of Karma, the Great Karmic Circle will either annihilate the soul (in case of too much negative Karma) or send it to Heaven (in case of too much positive Karma).

Perfect Society
Shadow Walkers have a vision. It is a vision of humanity living in a perfect society in a perfect world. Shadow Walkers, as an organization, have higher aspirations than remaining a secret cult of assassins indefinitely. They dream of coming out of the shadows and leading the people of Mishima into a glorious revolution that will change humanity for all time. However, before I explain how this perfect society will look like, I must say few words about how the Shadow Walkers acquired this utopian vision.

Do you remember when I was talking about Yokoto and how he made Shadow Walkers into what they are today? Well, it was he who created the vision of perfect society, and shared it with his Shadow comrades. Even before joining the Shadows, he already tried to realize his dream on Venus when he was carving his own personal kingdom. Actually, I shouldn’t use the word “kingdom.” I did so because that nasty word is in every history book. Historians will tell you that Yokoto was a madman who wanted to become a king – literally. That’s a lie. Just ask yourself who wrote those books - people who live only to be at the service of the samurais. And we both know how samurais regarded Yokoto. He never wanted to be a king and it was not a kingdom that he was making on Venus all those centuries ago. Granted, he ruled as a dictator, but remember he was fighting a war. First against Mishima, and then against everybody. Circumstances forced him to rule with an iron fist, but he never liked it. His goal was to establish a country inside which he could set up political and social system in accordance to his vision. Unfortunately, he was defeated, but during that short time he wrote a book which bears the simple title of “Society.”

You never heard about it? Of course you didn’t. It is banned. It contains revolutionary ideas that are viewed as dangerous; not only to Mishima, but all other megacorporations and the Brotherhood as well.

In Society, Yokoto explains how people should live together. His ideas were themselves influenced by many ancient thinkers such as Karl Marx, Plato, George Orwell or Paul Hensberg(2) and others. Some of those are hailed today as great thinkers, while others are banned and their names are mentioned only in whispers. Modern historians portray Yokoto as a cruel, primitive, megalomaniac barbarian, but in reality he was a very intelligent and educated man. Shadow Walker’s vision of a perfect society is based in ninety percent on his book. The rest comes from later thinkers (both Shadow Walkers and outsiders) whose beliefs were incorporated into the mainstream ideology.

That’s all as far as the introduction goes. Now, I’m finally free to explain to you how the perfect society should look like from Shadow Walkers’ point of view. Society, and this applies to all human societies, is divided into three groups. In Society, Yokoto uses the term “classes.” There is the first, second and the third class. The first class represents the wealthy elite who has the political power. The second class is below the elite and it can be called the middle class. The third and the last class is made of the poor masses. The specific names given to those classes can vary from society to society, but in the end it all comes down to the same thing.

The three classes are constantly struggling against each other. The first class is at the top and does everything possible to remain there. The second class is in the middle. This class wants to climb to the top, but it is also in danger of falling down to the level of the third class. For this reason, the second class is the most aggressive because it tries to fight its way to domination, but it also keeps the third class in line, helping to some extent the first class in the process. Finally, the third class has nothing to loose and wants to improve its situation by all means possible. This is the way humanity functions as a race. While individuals can within their lifetime move between classes, the classes themselves are always there, stuck in the same hierarchy.

Shadow Walkers are convinced that it is the struggle between classes that leads to suffering and grief. The rich want the poor to stay poor, while the poor want to be rich. As if was not enough, there is a considerable deal of infighting inside the classes themselves. It should never be forgotten than the classes are made up of individuals, and individuals, with only few exceptions, don’t care about the rest of the humanity. They only think about themselves. People are aware of their class, and might even to some small extent be sympathetic to the fellow members of the same class, but when the push comes to the shove, they think only about their own good. If a poor man has a chance to become rich, he will take it and leave his poor brothers and sisters behind without much thought. And once he becomes rich, he joins the other rich people in exploiting the poor masses.

So, logically thinking, uniting the three classes into one single class and making all people equal should make the world a better place? A Shadow Walker would reply with a “yes.” Unfortunately, nothing points out to the possibility that this is going to occur in any near, or even far, future. Perhaps humanity will one day evolve into such one-class system, but even if it does take place, humanity won’t see such a change for at least another couple of thousands of years. In fact, many Shadow Walkers believe that this kind of change will never occur through natural means of social evolution. They identify two main reasons for this.

I already mentioned the first one – it is human selfishness. Most people are petty, egoistic and competitive. True, there are exceptions, but those are very low in number. As I explained, people want to be happy in life. Unfortunately, human society makes people believe that wealth and high social position bring happiness. This might be to some extent true when it comes to the third class. Poverty is not a pleasant thing. The poor live a harsh life, and it is a fact that wealth can relieve a man from the sufferings of poverty. However, once you acquire enough wealth to live a relatively comfortable life, you should stop to crave money and instead concentrate on living your life in peace and happiness. Yeah, right! We all know that this simply does not happen.

People are being so indoctrinated into thinking that money equals happiness, that they want as much wealth as possible. They never stop once they leach the level of comfort. They want more, more and more. In the end, some of them make it, and some don’t. That’s how the three classes are created and sustained. When there is universal competition, there is always someone at the top and someone at the bottom, with someone in-between.

The second reason for the existence of the three classes is children. Yes, you heard me correctly. I said children. Those cute, little joyful beings. Well, actually it’s not children so much, but their parents. You see, people have children and, in general, love them. They want them to have the best future possible. Thus, parents leave their property to them and work hard to guarantee them good life. As a result, classes are hereditary in nature. By hereditary, I don’t mean that you are born into a class and stay there, although that’s what happens most of the time. It’s not like with aristocrats who are born aristocrats and stay aristocrats. Hereditary means that people are always born into the same class their parents belong to. Once in this world, they are free to either move up or down, but they always start at the same level their parents.

Now, why is this a problem? It’s a problem because pass their wealth to their descendants. So, what comes out of this is that membership in a class becomes restrictive. It is harder to climb up the social ladder since most of the positions up there are already filled. This in turn makes competition more savage. Savage competition makes people ruthless.

Also, passing membership in a class from parent to child results in something that could be called “class awareness.” You see, the classes have their own distinctive personality. You might say that each one is a living organism with its own culture. Parents have certain outlooks on life and they pass them to their children. This means that members of other classes are regarded as outsiders and enemies. Which in turn makes cooperation between classes impossible, and very difficult among individuals.

This is how things look like from Shadow Walkers’ perspective. They identify two problems with human society. These are the division into classes and their hereditary nature. Both of these must be eliminated. This can only be accomplished through extremely radical means. And the Shadow Walkers are willing to go all the way.

Imagine that human society is a house. From the moment this house came into existence, many ideologies struggled to reshape this house according to their will. However, all of these ideologies were content only with mere renovations. Some parts of the house were destroyed and rebuild in a different manner, but the house itself always remained standing. Shadow Walkers are not interested in a minor redecoration, or even a major one. Their goal is to destroy the whole house with its foundation and construct something completely new at its place.

You probably know what they want to do. They want a one-class society. This, according to them, can only be accomplished through a bloody revolution that will purge humanity of all “undesirable elements” and create social as well as economic equality. Of course, people, especially those that are rich and powerful, will never willingly accept such a system. That’s why the change can only be brought through violence and purging. It will be necessary to kill almost all members of the first class, most from the second class, and a lot from the third class. Why leave the third class mostly untouched? Because Shadow Walkers are most fond of the third class. They want to help the poor by redistributing property among them. They do understand that the rich elite will never tolerate it, so that’s why the first class must perish. The second class is also rich, and they too will loose in the end. That’s why most of them will oppose the revolution, and they must die as well. Finally, many people from the third class were raised in such a way that by now they are absolutely loyal to the upper classes. (This is especially true of Mishima and Shadow Walkers plan to start their revolution with Mishima.) So, those loyalists must die as well.

And who will supervise all of this? Why, the Shadow Walkers of course. It is them who will start the revolution and lead it. Once the initial struggle will be over, they will create a new government and carefully supervise the redistribution of property, purges and social changes.

To avoid hereditary problems, children will be taken away from parents immediately after birth and raised by the state. The brightest will be allowed to join the ruling elite. Obviously, children will be never told whom their parents are, and the parents will never know what happened to their children. This way, people won’t be able to pass their property to their offspring (or anyone else for that matter) and after death all of their possessions will return to the state that will redistribute them again. The same rules will apply to the ruling elite, so that they don’t leave their positions to their children and create new aristocracy by doing so.

This is only a short description of the perfect society. I limited myself to emphasizing the basics. It would take me many hours to explain it in details. I’m sure that by now you think that it is all pure madness. You think that such insane system could never come into existence since people will never tolerate such a thing. It is simply in human nature to have three classes and care for their children. Strangely as it might sound, Shadow Walkers consider the present structure of human society to be an artificial creation and not something natural. And who knows? Maybe they’re right? Sociologists argue about these questions all the time. Shadow Walkers do agree that families are biological in nature, but at the same time they are convinced that human intellect can overwrite any and all animal instincts. With enough education, practice and coercion parents will learn to give away their children without much fuss. And besides, it’s not like those children are killed or something. They receive good education and are raised in love and affection by the state that loves and cherishes them.

There is one more thing that has a chance of redeeming Shadow Walkers in your eyes. You see, they are not stupid. They do fully realize that such drastic changes must take a lot of time – centuries, in fact. There are some extremists among them who say that the perfect society can be created within a single lifetime, but they are dismissed as madmen. Except for those few naïve fools, all Shadow Walkers agree that the process must be slow and carefully organized. Everything must happen step by step, with decades and even centuries between each step. Achieving results in one giant leap is impossible, and will only lead to senseless bloodbath. That’s why there is such a strong need for a powerful, totalitarian government slowly and relentlessly working towards a very specific goal. Only such a dedicated and patient (Patience is one of the most important virtues among Shadow Walkers.) institution stands a chance of performing the necessary changes. With time, as the one-class society moves more and more towards its ideal, the ruling elite will diminish in power and number, until it withers and disappears completely. And once this takes place, world will be a paradise. Well, at least comparing to today’s world.

(2)

Paul Hensberg (46 BYC – 12 YC) was a leader of a religious sect which he founded during the First Corporate Wars. He developed a mixture of spiritual and political ideology that promoted goodness, pacifism and absolute power of the state. He was very troublesome to the Brotherhood since he opposed Durand I and his organization. He died of a heart attack, but many people believed that in reality the Light Warriors (of the original Inquisition) poisoned him. His sect was branded as heretical and destroyed during the war with Dark Legion. Rumors persist that he and a couple of his disciples wielded Art, but these were never proven. There is also a rumor that the sect was not completely destroyed and that it still exists.

Individual and Society
So far, I concentrated my efforts on describing two aspects of the Shadow Philosophy – individuality and society. As you can imagine, these two can be viewed as two opposite ideologies. At one hand, Shadow Walkers think that all people are free to make their own choices, but at the same time they want to impose a certain way of living on people. So what happens if someone doesn’t want to live the way Shadow Walkers tell him to live? What about that person’s right to choose her own path in life? It looks like we have a case of two conflicting ideologies here. Fortunately, Shadow Walkers are aware of this conflict and have a solution to it.

To begin, one-class society does not mean that everyone is doing exactly the same thing. In the perfect society there is still going to be a need for certain professions. Just because people live in equality, that does not mean that there is no demand for doctors, engineers, scientists, artists, soldiers and many, many other occupations. People are still going to be free to make their choices. Also, the pursuit of Ultimate Happiness won’t be forgotten. People are still going to be encouraged search for happiness through physical, mental and spiritual perfection.

However, when you give freedom to the people, there is always the risk of them making bad choices. What if someone decides that what he truly desires are wealth, power, glory and other things that will end up raising him far above the masses? And if a sufficient number of such people appear, and no one will stop them, won’t they in the end destroy the one-class society by creating a higher class? The answer is no. Such people will be encouraged, actually forced, to pursue their selfish interests in the government where they can get what they want and still do some good for the people. If they refuse to join the ruling elite, or if they turn out to be just too egoistic, then they are going to be executed.

But there is a belief that this kind of problems will arise very rarely. Shadow Walkers believe that almost all of the presently selfish people had their selfishness indoctrinated into them by materialistic and competitive society. Once the society changes, selfish people will become almost extinct. True, Shadow Walkers do recognize that some people might be selfish by nature, but they believe that such people are so rare that they won’t pose a problem.

One more thing to keep in mind. It is important to remember that the good of the community always outweighs the good of the individual. You are free to do whatever you want as long as your actions don’t cause harm to the society. If that’s the case, and you are not willing to change your ways, then you must be stopped. Stopped usually implies execution.

Religion
I promised to say few words about Shadow Walkers’ religious beliefs. Unfortunately, I really can’t say much about their religion because they lack any religion. If anything, philosophy is their religion. They have this saying: “If you are told how things are and you are invited to question and discuss them, then it is philosophy. If you are told how things are and you are ordered to accept them, then it is religion.” As you can see, they feel contempt for all that is religious in nature. Still, some sort of religious elements persist among them. As far as I know, none of them follow Luxenism(3), and very few abide to Arikata(4). However, almost all of them believe in reincarnation, but not in Karma. They just don’t see why the Great Karmic Circle should care about one’s actions in life. They think that death and rebirth are natural phenomena and the deeds committed in life have nothing to do with the time between rebirths. Besides, what is good and evil anyway? It’s all subjective. And is there really such a thing as the Great Karmic Circle?

That’s pretty much it as far as religion goes. As you can see, theology is not their strong point. But they don’t need religion to guide their life. They have their beloved Shadow Philosophy, and for them it is as good as any religion.

(3)	Luxenism is the name of the religion practiced by the Brotherhood. It comes from the Latin word Lux, which means, “light.”
(4)	Arikata is Mishima’s religion. It comes from Japanese word meaning “the way something should be.”

Respect
My friend, what you just heard is nothing but a short and general description of the Shadow Philosophy. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to go into details. However, before I finish, I just want to say few words about the extent to which the Shadow Walkers respect these ideas.

The description you heard is the one of official, mainstream ideology. As it is with all philosophical theories, there are variations, most minor in nature. As you can imagine, emphasis on philosophical training leads many Shadow Walkers to question some elements of their ideology. This is not only tolerated, but even desired. Shadow Walkers believe that everyone should find his own path in life. So, logically, it is a good thing that they question their teachings instead of blindly obeying the Elders.

As I just said a second ago, you will have great difficulty in finding two Shadow Walkers who agree in hundred percent about every single aspect of the Shadow Philosophy. Yet, while there is a great variation when it comes to details, most of the Shadow Walkers accept the main points of their ideology without question. I say most because there are always those who don’t. Exceptions exist everywhere, even among the Shadow Walkers. Such unusual members are in general tolerated, although not liked, as long as their ideas don’t pose a threat to the organization. If they do pose a threat, they are eliminated. The good of the community always comes before the good of the individual.

By now you probably imagine Shadow Walkers as a group of wise philosophers spending their days in debate and quiet meditation, and some assassination from time to time. Actually, it’s the other way around.

All Shadow Walkers receive education in philosophy, but not all of them become philosophers. They are also encouraged to practice some form of art, play chess and solve mathematical errors, but most of them stop doing those things once their training is over. There is a large number of Shadow Walkers who have no interest whatsoever in art or philosophy. Sure, as children they attend the lessons and force themselves to participate, but once they are recognized as adults, they concentrate on “more practical things,” as they put it. I can’t give you numbers or break it into percentage. It’s not as if they have surveys to measure such things. However, I will venture as far as to say that there are more realists (as non-philosophically inclined Shadow Walkers could be called) than philosophers. But the gap between these two groups is not that big either. And besides, it is hard to estimate the situation accurately since it is perfectly possible for someone to be a little bit of both.

When it comes to respecting and following different aspects of the Shadow Philosophy, it is safe to say that almost all Shadow Walkers abide to the part about individual development. Even realists do. The popularity of this particular aspect is due to its usefulness. Intense training and the quest for perfection really help them do their job. It makes Shadow Walkers excellent assassins.

On the other hand, things look much different when it comes to the part about creation of a perfect society. The truth is that most, and by most I mean a very large majority, of the Shadow Walkers don’t care at all about building a better world. Sure, they pay lip service to the theory, but few of them entertain the idea of restructuring human society. The whole concept is just too abstract and remote. They feel comfortable living as it is right now. Embarking on a revolution is not something they feel sympathy for. And how would they do it anyway? Shadow Walkers might be feared, but they have no political or military power. Just how exactly is a group of secret, hated, and feared assassins who are often believed to be heretics going to take over Mishima? The difficulty, or rather impossibility, of the task discourages many would-be revolutionaries. There is also the whole idea of purging and killing hundreds of millions of people. Perhaps this might seem very surprising, but many Shadow Walkers are disgusted by the possibility of such massive slaughter. Yes, they are assassins and they don’t mind killing people, but even they have their limits.

As far as I know, the first and so far the only serious attempt to start a revolution was took place during Kori’s Madness. There have been no other attempts ever since. Still, make no mistake. There always has been a small faction of radicals who are determined to start the revolution. And they think that their time will come soon. They view the Second Corporate War and the return of the Dark Legion as an opportunity. They think that war will bring down the old system. And when that happens, they will step in to fill the political void and lead Mishima into a new age of greatness. And mark my words. Nothing will stand in their way. Not even other Shadow Walkers.