For a moment Princess Yin does not look pretty at all. Beauty is as much a thing of the heart as the face, and no amount of radiance could turn that flash of anger into something admirable.

It lingers on her, half suppressed, buried underneath a face that quickly re-adopts its calm and radiant expression. Not because she has control of the feeling, oh no, quite the opposite - she is merely thinking through the very best way to inflict punishment.

"You," said Princess Yin, at last drawing her long and glorious fencing rapier, "are going to [i]wish[/i] you didn't choose the hard way."

[i]"Princess Yin! Princess Yin! Silent screams above the din!"[/i]

As the world hesitates on that screeching orchestral chord, the moment before your very first fight - a crash echoes through the clearing. Two trees fall to either side causing the darkness to recoil - although what replaces it is not much better.

A demon enters the clearing - tall and mighty and muzzled, a two-handed katana held casually over one shoulder, smouldering with hellfire. She is a demon swordswoman whose kimono sleeves were torn off to make more room for her muscles, and what remains of the garment seems one solid flex away from bursting entire. Her skin is tattooed with ten thousand fencing diagrams, the sword-bearing stick-figures seeming to move and clash as the tattoos rotate in spiralling patterns up her arms. Beat, beat, beat. [b]Behold[/b], the Secrets of the Stance. 

Behind her comes a figure from legend, a creature depicted on ancient statues and with the classical beauty of those forgotten times. Glowing golden horns and eyes the same, hypnotic enough to lull a mouse to walk willingly into her jaws. Her long serpentine tail flicks with that same beat, scales of lapis lazuli and the occasional gold gorgeous enough to draw attention away from the fact that she's soaking wet. Well, demons usually are, aren't they? These creatures are here from the river, hunting for one soul in particular, and the grin on the face of the Scales of Meaning lets you know that it is [i]you[/i].

Princess Yin steps back and her shadows cluster close around her, blade held ready for a fight. As the faces of evil look to engage you feel gentle teeth brush against your ankle. Hyra, trapped in the form of a wolf, is telling you that it is time to run.