Fate Guides My Steps

Chapter One: Tempered

YoseiAmbereyes (Jade)

"Word has reached us your highness..."

Spoke a regally dressed General as he cautiously entered the grand throne room where his lord and master resided. The jet black breast plate he wore seemed to absorb all light instead of reflecting it. The silver inlay in the pattern of a twisting snake flashed back the yellow and orange of the torches that lit up the windowless chamber. His midnight blue cloak signaled his rank, head of the Eastern Armies. Within easy reach of his right hand hung a long broad sword, on his left side a wicked looking dirk was thrust into his belt. Before coming any closer the General gracefully bent to one knee and bowed his head. Then he rose and walked the rest of the distance to the platform. The circular platform was more like a stage, an impressive solid pass of marble that gave the throne an extra four feet over anyone on the floor. The man on the throne regarded his General for a moment and then nodded once, signaling him to continue.

"Reports say that the rumors of the Seer in Arcadia, are true, my lord. Spies have conveyed that she uses an all seeing deck of cards to tell the future. She lives on the western border of Arcadia, the one shared with our ally, the Vasan. With your order, we could have her cards within the fortnight."

The High Lord was a man of very few words. However he analyzed other's very carefully and very shrewdly. The ruling Lord of Hummai, was a very strict dictator. His people dared not rebel, for fear of his rage. When he took this land for his own twenty years ago and a young age of eighteen, people believed he might be a kind ruler. But his tactics that he employed to gain his territory were less that honorable. Betraying allies, defying treaties, breaking pacts; all things that he resorted to, to get what he wanted. He was a surprisingly slight man, with a narrow face and body. In his voluminous robes that he wore, it was hard to detect where the robes ended and he began. None the less, everyone knew his strength, his ruthlessness, and his ambition.

On the small continent of Isha, there once had been six peaceful ruling kingdoms. In the twenty years since the High Lord came to power, that number had dwindled to three. Vasan held the farthest western lands, the deserts, the plains, and the western sea. The High Lord's land curved along the southern belly of the continent, and then around to the eastern shores of the continent. Arcadia resided in the north, their snowy mountain strong holds, and their fierce southern cities. For the moment.

"Well, then I guess we move forward with our plans a little earlier than I had anticipated."

The High Lord spoke at last. He idly drummed his fingers against the white marble of his elaborate throne and hummed an old lullaby under his breath. He stared unblinkingly at General Asagawa, his pale silver eyes regarding the warrior. The General's nervousness was tangible. The High Lord smirked, knowing the hood of his cloak would hide the curving of his lips.

"Tell my historians to comb my libraries for anything on omniscient objects. Tell them I will need to know how to operate these cards once I get my hands on them. Next, send word to Vasan, we move on Arcadia in five days. You will go with the Vasan King to attack with his fleet. Take as many men as you believe you will need, and when you cross the boarder, break from Vasan's ranks and seek those cards. If the King has any problems with your...errand, tell him that I will not attack from the south until those cards are in my hands. That should take care of any concerns of his. He has wanted the westernlands of Arcadia for crop growing. Once we are in the throng, we shall push for the southern capital, the first there will claim the metal rich mountains to Arcadia's northeast."

His orders were clean and concise, all given with out any hint of emotion. For all Asagawa could tell his lord could have been commenting on the status of the army weaponry or the stock of fine wines for the palace. He made the finely tuned plan that they all had worked on for months sound...trivial. How could someone be so assured in their fate? So certian that things will go according to plan?

The General nodded once to show he understood the orders, then turned and barked instructions to the lower ranking officials in the back of the room. They skittered about to do the High Lord's bidding. Once the orders had be doled out the General slowly began backing away to leave. But before he could get far, the General spoke again.

"Oh, and General?"

The Master of the Eastern Army turned instantly, stood erect and at attention.

"My Lord?"

The High Lord stared impassively at the General for a moment, his hard silver eyes boring into the General's murky brown ones.

"I am placing you personally in charge of those cards. If they reach me damaged, or are lost, I will take it out of your skin. Understand?"

He said it with a cruel seriousness that few ever retain. Just the High Lord's words made the General's skin crawl and his hair stand on end. His throat closed up, and his hands shook at his sides. Turning those shaking fingers into a fist to hide any trace of weakness, the General nodded and then fled the main hall. He didn't not slow down until he reached the stables in the palace's court yard. Once there, he rested against the stall of his horse for some time. In his mind he replayed the High Lord's words, and still felt the same reaction. But the General shook it off and saddled up his horse. If he was to be the one responsible for the cards, then by God, he would be there for their capture.

The General left the city with four battalions of men. It would take them six days of hard riding to reach the Vasan King's side. And the King's troops would be leaving for the boarder four days hence. That gave the General and his men a day of rest in Trinsdell, the Vasan capital, and then they would all march on Arcadia.

From a high tower the High Lord watched his General's departure. The evil man smiled a dark smile with his cruel intentions in mind.

Fifteen year old Syaoran Li rose before dawn that morning, just like every other morning. The little village he lived in was nestled in a thick forest on the western boarder of his home country of Arcadia. He went through a series of light stretches just outside the hut he shared with his mother and four sisters. His sensitive ears picked up the familiar sounds of the rest of the villagers beginning to rouse. Walking over to the well, the young teenager ran a hand through his unruly light brown hair, noting dimly that it was getting rather long, his bangs now hung well over his eyes. With practiced ease, Syaoran pulled up a bucket full of cool water and rinsed his face, enjoying the bracing feeling it gave him. He looked at his reflection, the graying sky over head providing a sharp contrast to his tanned skin and brown hair. Stunning amber eyes looked up from the bucket, staring intently at their true owner. Syaoran sighed, maybe he would keep his hair long, it provided good cover for such startling eyes. His mother would tell him he had the eyes of a wolf, a predator.

The young teen had a scrawny build, in recent months he had gained several inches of height, and now the rest of his body rushed to keep up. The older men assured him that he would grow into his new height soon enough. Syaoran snorted at the idle thought, and settled the well bucket on the rim of the stone well for whoever the next user would be. He turned to look at the stirring village around him. He smiled. The people of this village were mostly of his family, the Li family. Ages ago, hundreds of years, they were once a royal family that ruled the lands to the east of here. Now they were farmers, and artisans; however, the pride of the once royal family remained, even if the power they once held did not. And while they had taken up the lives of farmers and artisans, each child born with the Li name was given intensive warrior training since birth. Such skills were highly valued in this country, with the Vasans and the Hummais both eyeing Arcadia with hungry looks, Syaoran knew it was a matter of a couple years before drafters returned to this village to take up all able bodied young men for the army. These lands, in fact, had been a gift from the grandfather of the current Arcadian King for the Li Clan's vital participation in a civil war.

Syaoran reached under his rough weave tunic and pulled out the necklace he was never seen without. A braided red cord that held a sphere of black onyx flanked by tassels. It had been given to him by his father, just before he died. It was a heavy burden for the young teen to bear, since it marked him as the heir to the Clan, the next leader of his family. Syaoran moved away from the waking village, walking purposefully out the back gate and into the edges of the forest that crept like green fringe into the space the village had taken up. He wished for solitude for his next exercises. Removing the necklace from his neck, he then let it hang from his right hand. There was no flash, no sound, just a blink and suddenly a long broad sword occupied the space the necklace had. The stunning sliver blade was straight but curved just lightly inwards on both sides, giving the tip and the area next to the hilt a wider width. The hilt was black and gold, the grip was red and the braided red cord with the black onyx sphere dangled from the top. Syaoran slid into the stance of his first kata, closing his eyes he evened his breathing and then began.

His scrawny and awkward looking form suddenly fell away, and any onlooker would he stunned by the grace that the teen now moved with. Sliding flawlessly from each move into the next the conducted his exercises with his eyes closed in concentration. The sword in his hands was magic, its transition from its necklace state to the sword was initiated however, by Syaoran's magic. The young teen aside from being the most skilled warrior in his family, a learned student, a farmer, a horseman, was also a sorcerer in training. It could never be said that Syaoran Li was anything but determined. The young heir was determined to be the best leader he could for his family. And if that meant, giving up many aspects of a normal childhood to reach those goals, then so be it.

A vicious downward slash, fueled by that thought was suddenly halted by an unfelt obstacle. Syaoran opened his eyes and shook his away from his thoughts with some shame. He should have been paying more attention to his surroundings, he realized as he started at the short sapling he had just sliced neatly in half. Returning himself to the part of the forest with the smallest amount of trees, Syaoran began again, this time concentrating only on the movements of his sword.

That is, until his cousin interrupted him.

"SYAORAN!"

The Li Clan heir faltered for a second then turned on heel and faced his new adversary. His attacker came in the form of an thirteen year old girl. She was barefoot, with her long black hair up in two pony tails on either side of her head. Up until a few months ago, his cousin had been close to his height, however he now was atleast a head taller than her. She was dressed in loose weave tunic, and pants she saw his sword in his hand and thus screeched to a halt a few feet away. Deep mahogany red eyes looked at Syaoran, and her full red lips turned down in a pout.

"Meling, what ever it is, it better be good."

The young girl crossed her arms and frowned.

"Come on, give me some credit, Syaoran. I know better than to interrupt your sword training."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for what ever message or news that she carried.

"Elder needs your help this morning, his usual helper Jin is still being treated by Lady Nadeshiko for his fever."

Syaoran sighed, he lowered his sword to his side, a moment later he was pulling the red cord over his head. The village Elder was acting as Li Clan leader for Syaoran until he came of age. This wise old man was a constant in everyone's life in the village, and he did a wonderful job advising those under his protection. Syaoran had nothing but the highest respect for the man. Thus his willingness to follow his younger cousin from the sanctuary of the forest back into the village.

In the short amount of time that had passed, the village had become alive with movement. Children began to race up and down the center of the village, woman opened the shutters to their huts and aired out the sleeping pallets and men and boys gathered their tools for a day in the fields. Meling broke off after a few homes to return to her mother's side for morning chores. Leaving Syaoran to finish walking to the Elder's hut alone. Along the way, many villagers paused in their morning tasks to greet the young man.

"Syaoran! You on your way to see Elder? Tell him that the door hinges he asked for will be done by tomorrow!"

The blacksmith called out as he stoked his slumbering fires to life. Syaoran answered with a visible nod, but refrained from speaking. The Elder lived at the edge of the village, opposite from the village entrance. He was also one of the few villagers that lived in a house, rather than a hut or lean too structure. Climbing up the rough hewn stairs, Syaoran politely knocked and then entered.

"Ahhh, Syaoran. I take it your cousin found you in the forest this morning."

Syaoran gave a neat bow before sinking to a cross legged sit next to the older man's low table. The Elder poured the younger man a cup of tea from the steaming tea pot.

"Yea, she found me. So how is Jin doing? Better I hope."

The Elder smiled and nodded his head, setting the tea pot back down; and then picking up his own cup to take a delicate sip.

"Oh yes, he is doing much better. Lady Nadishiko assures me that Jin is beyond danger, he now just needs a couple more days of rest to ensure his full recovery."

Syaoran said nothing, allowing a pleasant silence to settle over them. His thoughts wandered to the resident healer of their village, the Lady Nadeshiko. She lived outside of the village, about a ten minute walk through the forest due east. While her reasons for living outside of the protection of the village were vague, the villagers never pressed her for clarification. The young healer had showed up outside the village gates one stormy summer afternoon around six months ago. She had nothing with her but the clothes on her back and two young children in tow. Usually, the presence of a stranger inside the walls of the Li Clan, was merely tolerated. However, Nadeshiko arrived in the village just in time to treat and save half its people from a strange whooping cough that plagued them. The green eyed beauty not only received the thanks and gratitude of the village, but their trust as well. Presently, she was the resident healer and doctor for the village with the village midwife training every day under her.

Syaoran took a sip of his tea, a small smile gracing his features. He thought of Nadishiko's two children, the eldest was a boy Syaoran's age. The village horse trainer had taken him up as an apprentice, and Syaoran suspected that the other stable boy, a Li, was giving Nadishiko's boy a few hand to hand combat lessons in exchange for chores. The other child was a young girl, just turned tweleve this past spring. Syaoran had had little interaction with her in the past months, since she rarely left Nadeshiko's side and was very shy. In the few times Syaoran had spoken to Nadeshiko directly, he had caught a glimpse of a small slip of a girl, peaking from behind things, doors, walls or curtains; bright green eyes staring wide eyed at him.

"Syaoran. If you are done with your tea, we should get started."

The young teen blinked, pulled again from his thoughts. He looked at his cup to find its contents gone. He put his cup down, rose and then helped the Elder to his feet. Allowing him to lean heavily on his arm, Syaoran lead the Elder to the porch outside. A handful of villagers had gathered outside the house, all of them had their arms crossed, or their eyes darkened with some sort of trouble or worry. The Elder settled on the steps of his home and sagely folded his hands in his lap. Syaoran took up a sentinel seat one step down from the Elder to the right. His job was simple, keep everyone cool and level headed. Today was the last day of the week, and in the morning, the Elder would hear cases or troubles brought to him to solve. It was a tedious job, but Syaoran knew it would one day fall to him, so he focused and listened closely to the first pair that stepped foreword.

The men's nervousness and excitement was rubbing off on the horses. General Asagawa patted the neck of his own gray war horse in a comforting gesture that soothed his raging emotions as much as his horse's. Six days of hard riding, the General and four battalions of his best and most trusted men had entered the Vasan capital of Trinsdell. After a day of rest, Asagawa led his troops out along with the Vasan King, who sat at the head of seven thousand strong. It would be them, that would make the first strike against Arcadia. Asagawa would attack with the Vasans at Arcadia's western boarder. They would push past the boarder patrols and into the thick Arcadian forests, once there, Asagawa would take one battalion and ride to the village where the seer lived. The remainder of his troops would stay with the Vasan King, both as a sign of good will and as collateral, to ensure Asagawa's word of the High Lord's intent to attack from the south.

Now, they were stationed just on the other side of a few sloping hills, beyond their cover lay the Arcadian boarder. The blood red sun sank slowly behind them, a testament to their intent. Asagawa sighed, and calmed himself. He should enjoy this last idle moment, he would not get another for some time.

Horses nickered, and shifted about. He could hear the men whispering sweet comforts in their mount's ears. The sun's light dimmed with each passing moment. Stars began to come out, the little holes in the dark blue sky. Crickets and cicadas began a night time chorus, but Asagawa noticed the lack of frogs or birds. Just like the horses, those animals could feel the tension in the air. Asagawa closed his eyes.

Soon.

Nadeshiko shivered. She pulled her shawl tighter against her body as she finished tucking her little daughter into the bed they shared. Her son lay, nearly asleep, on his own pallet by the hearth. She smiled at the teen, as his eyes drooped shut. Once assured the boy was asleep, she crept over and pressed a gentle kiss on his brow. Nadeshiko then padded back across the room, back to her daughter. Checking to make double sure both children were asleep, Nadeshiko carefully pulled something from the circle of her daughter's arms. The lithe girl shifted, slightly aware of the absence, but the comforting feel of a mother's touch to her cheek sent the girl back to her dreams.

Nadishiko left the little hut they shared, and went outside. The full bright moon was over head, giving her plenty of light to see by, even through the screen of trees. The healer turned the object she had taken from her daughter over in her hands. It was a teddy bear. Nadeshiko had sewn it herself, for her child. Taking scraps from old clothes and blankets, she had lovingly pieced the top together and then presented it to her daughter for her tenth birthday two years ago. At first glance, it didn't look out of the ordinary. However, Nadeshiko, as the toy's creator, knew better. She had given this gift out of more than just the want for her daughter to have a play thing. And her daughter, now to old for such childish things, continued to carry it for a different reason than a lovable companion.

The woman turned the bear over, exposing his back to the moonlight. There was a pocket there, sewn into his back, and it bulged with its contents. With gentle fingers, Nadeshiko removed the contents and then placed the bear in her bag at her side for lack of a better place. She turned the things over in her hands, marveling at the familiarity, despite not having touched them in years. No, they had long been in the care of her small daughter. Nadeshiko herself, training the child to use them. To care for them.

Nadeshiko held the cards up and looked over the face of each in the dim light. She had been younger than her daughter was now, when these things were given into her care. She never had the necessary talents needed to master these cards. So she, like many others before her, guarded them until their master would come to claim them. Which she did.

The healer glanced back at the hut. She hoped her daughter could forgive her for what she was going to do.

The last reading that Nadeshiko did while the cards were still under her care, foretold this night. The cards told her that the man that sought to control the cards would finally catch up to her. And that she would have to make a choice. Hand the cards over willingly, or be responsible for the slaughter of a village and her family. Nadeshiko shuddered, and it had nothing to do with the evening chill. She looked down at the cards, tears welling up in her eyes.

She was going to betray the promises she made to her family to keep these objects of power out of the hands of evil. She was going to betray those oaths because she wasn't strong enough to make the sacrifice necessary to continue to keep them safe. Nadeshiko knew, she could never be able to bear the deaths of the people who gave her sanctuary. And she knew, that she wouldn't allow her children, her precious children to die.

The quiet forest night was broken by the toll of the village bell. It rang out, cutting through the darkness with its mournful peal. Nadeshiko shuddered again, feeling as though she was being summoned to her doom. She put the cards in the bag by her side, that usually held herbs or plants she collected for medicines. She couldn't be a fool. She knew there was a very good chance she would be taken with the cards. She turned on heel and returned to her home to make sure her children were still asleep.

Her son awoke to the sound of the bell, he was halfway out of her blankets by the time Nadeshiko returned to her hut.

"No, Toya. I will go down to the village to see what is going on. You stay here with your sister."

Nadeshiko whispered, nodding to the young girl who slept on, oblivious to the world around her. Toya stalled, looking back and forth between his mother and sister. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, son. Stay here, Sakura would be upset if she woke up to an empty house. I will return as soon as I know what is happening."

"Alright, mother."

Nadeshiko smiled and kissed her son's cheek. Then she slipped on her shoes, and traded her shawl for a heavier cloak. She paused in the doorway, however, and looked back at her son.

"Toya, promise me something."

The fifteen year old looked up at his mother from his place next to the hearth.

"What, mom?"

"That you'll always protect your sister."

Confusion crossed his face at his mother's words. Why make him promise such a thing?

"Of course I will."

Nadeshiko smiled warmly at him, making any dark thoughts he had flee. His mother was just going down into the village after all, she'd be right back.

"Be safe, my son. I love you."

And she was gone, with a swirl of her cloak and a breath of evening air. Toya looked at the door, as it creaked shut behind her. His face fell, and a deep sense of sadness crept over him. He got up, and made his way to the bed where his sister slept. He sat down on the floor next to it, wanting to be near family. Because he couldn't shake off the feeling, that his little sister on the bed, was all he had left.

A/N: The characters used in this fictional piece do not belong to me, nor do I stake any claim on them with the publishing of this work.

Please forgive this poor, tired college student of any spelling or grammar errors that she missed in editing.

If anyone had any kind of trouble following the time line, please tell me in a review and I'll start including dates and time when ever the scene changes.