Chapter 1

I was cornered, and my pursuers knew it. But even with only my instrument and a spare bow, I could still beat them. Everyone knows that an animal is most dangerous when cornered.

The strange masked assailants dropped down all around me. I put my violin in its special holder on my back, at the same time pulling out my spare bow.

The first just jumped straight at me. I held out the magically strengthened bow towards his body, and his throat was impaled on the end of it, until I kicked the now corpse off. I turned towards the rest of my enemies, just in time for one of them to finish making a series of symbols with their hands. They shouted something in a language I didn't understand, before I felt a huge wall of wind throw me backwards, and through some of the trees all around us.

I flipped upright, and threw my bow towards the man with outstanding speed and unerring accuracy. The sharpened metal point passed through his skull like a hot knife through butter, pushing him back and sticking him to the tree ten feet behind him. I rushed up and grabbed the bow before turning to the remaining two attackers. The pupil-less eyes of the one unnerved me slightly, but I held my ground.

The taller one drew a massive sword, and rushed me with surprising speed. Still using the bow, I blocked each strike with lightning fast reflexes, before slamming him in the side of the head with the same item. He crumpled to the ground, but I couldn't tell whether he was merely unconscious or in fact dead. The last attacker – and I say that loosely, since he didn't "attack" per se – stared at me, obviously marveling at how I had defeated their entire team with just a violin bow. I exerted all the will I could muster to speak directly into their mind.

Who are you, and what do you want with me?

Over the temporary mental link I had established, I felt surprise, shock, and a touch of anger. But I still learned my answer.

Five years ago, somewhere

I had no idea where I was. Actually, I had no memory whatsoever. The last thing I could remember was floating in a giant void of energy, and slowly dying within it. Then suddenly, I'm here, in this weird place that was, as far as I could tell, not where I was from. Yes, I wasn't in Kansas anymore for certain. I had been traveling for about a week in this forest, trying to find someone to talk to before I went mad from the unnatural silence. Well, also before I starved to death, but that was more secondary since I somehow knew how to 'live off the land,' however a nice hot meal that someone else made would've been welcome.

Finally, on this, the eleventh or twelfth day of my aimless wandering, I saw the edge of the forest. And I could swear that just beyond the treeline, I could see little wisps of smoke, as if from chimneys. I ran out towards the smoke as fast as I could, and almost over the cliff this town was up against. Of course there would be a cliff. How was I supposed to get down a cliff that was at least a thousand feet high without any climbing equipment? Then, it struck me. A few hundred feet away along the edge, I could see a waterfall. Of course, if there was a waterfall, then it would have to fall somewhere, right? So, carefully making my way along the edge, I crept towards the waterfall, intent on getting to the village below me.

After a few minutes of cautious walking, and a few close calls with an unstable edge, I was at the top of the waterfall. Now that I'm here, though, it's kind of a lot of water, and the plunge pool at the bottom looks really, really tiny. I probably shouldn't even be this close to the edge, but that's something to deal with once I survive the plunge. If I – no, wait, no, that's bad thinking! If I think like that I won't survive!

Steeling myself, I stepped off of the edge, trying to angle so I'd hit the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Even with the mental preparation, I still screamed like a little girl, before hitting the surface of the water and going under.

300 years ago, somewhere else

I lay on the soft grass, basking in the sunlight. Life was good. I had great friends, a loving family, and a—

"Poachers!" The cry shot through the tranquility of the lake, disrupting my happy thoughts.

—and a community to defend with my life. I dashed off, knowing that this was my time to make good on my promise of protection.

700 years ago, somewhere else

"So then, old friend. It is time, isn't it?"

/Regretfully, I have to say that it is./

"That's okay; we both know that I've been here for far too long."

/It does not change the fact that I will be sad to see you go. The last human who truly believes…/

"You know that's not—"

/It is, actually. You are the only one who has seen us and believes that we are real./

"What about that—"

/Dead. They all died two days ago in a freak accident at the League during a dinner he was holding. I expect that one of the last things you will do this time around is go to their joint funeral./

"And then we'll arrange it so that I disappear, just like old times?"

/Yes, just like old times./

It was a spectacular funeral, you know. It's positively amazing what happens when you have twenty-four people, including the League Champion and Elite Four, all die together, and then their families decide to hold the funerals together. It was amazing, but I wish that it didn't have to happen. They were all so young…

Of course, then I had to do the whole "disappear off the face of the earth" thing AGAIN, and the climb to the top of the mountain was difficult, as usual.

At the top, I took out my special flute, playing a short melody to let my friend know I was here. I climbed the stairs, and, at the top, a soft golden glow enveloped me, before there was blackness.