Authors Note:

So I am new, and this is my first story so I felt I needed some other people besides a few pen pals to read it. It is a mix of my own sort of fiction, and fanfiction. I just made these, reviewed them, and hope it is enjoyable and the story I hope will get better as I write it. This is basically a prologue if anything for this chapter to makeup a back story so things later on make sense. I do not own the rights to Pokemon or anything else I use. Enjoy and hope it is good for a new guy.

Chapter 1: A Land of Ice and Snow

It is a cold, snowy day, the signs of the approaching winter season upon the Norselands. Most of the trees have shed what had remained of their leaves, save for the lush evergreens that roamed the plains and steppes. Animals roamed wild and free, gathering whatever food they can muster before the deep snows came in. This was the time to begin the prime hunting season for the Norselandic people. A hundred miles outside the closest major city, out in the open steppe and country land, food came much harder for people. A boy, just turning fifteen years old, was sent out along with his father to hunt for the family. Far through the forests, in search of wolf packs, the two hardy Norselanders made camp where they set their two horses out in the open, to serve as bait. It was time for this boy to do this on his own, to prove his years of hunting and training with his father worthwhile. He found a nearby bush, sitting on a nicely snow-covered hilltop, overlooking the horses as bait. Quietly, he waited in the bitter cold, his rifle fully loaded with only one shot in the chamber. His father, armed only with a knife and extra rifle cartridges sat behind his son, and quietly gave his instructions.

"Make me proud son, the wolves will be sensing the scent of the horses soon. Make your shot count and be wary."

The boy tightened his grip on the stock of his bolt-action rifle, making sure his breath was not visible from outside the shrub. Soon, just a few meters out, a lone wolf began stalking closer to the bait. It must have been a scout for its pack, as it eventually came into view and range of the boy.

"Are you ready son? Are you ready Nikoli?" whispered the father. "Breath in deep, letting only half of your breath out before you shoot."

The wolf, as white as the snow itself, made its dash toward the horses, gaining speed as it came down the hills. The boy, Nikoli, began breathing in and moved his rifle steadily into place, waiting for the right shot.

"Now Nikoli, before it's too late. Fire…Fire!" said the father, his voice getting louder.

Then Nikoli fired his lone shot, its loud noise echoing throughout the forest. After the sound from the rifle dimmed, only the shrieking of the horses was heard. He had missed. The wolf began clawing at the helpless beasts, gnawing and biting as it began to bring the hapless animals down. Nikoli's father reached for the rifle, stripped it from him, and began to load another bullet into the chamber. This time, the father had his shot, taking down the wolf with a crisp squeeze of the trigger. The wolf went down, without a peep from it. It was an instant kill. There it lay with the body of a horse mortally wounded from its attacks. The father and Nikoli made their way to the animals to see what they could do about the wounds.

"His wounds are too great to bear," said Nikoli. "What are we going to do Da.."

Before he could even finish, another shot was fired into the horses head by his father.

"He had to be eased of his pain. It was for the best," the father whispered.

"I'm sorry Dad, I failed, I…I'm so sorry."

His father just looked at him, shook his head, and walked over to his son.

"Yes, you did fail son…you failed miserably. You should be ready at this point to be able to hit an animal on the move, especially in a dire situation like this. Now you must pay the consequences of telling the rest of the family what you have caused. We will be out again tomorrow at the family range to continue to practice before I even take you out again."

His father began picking up the dead wolf, getting ready to strap it on the remaining horse.

"I do not understand…you are a much better shooter then this Nikoli!" he screamed. "I will not allow my son to be just an average shooter, especially with hostilities between our enemies growing in other countries. Should we go to war with anyone, I will not allow you to serve your country and people without proper training. You must be able to protect your home!"

The boy just sat there motionless, feeling nothing but sheer guilt and realizing there was no way out of this. For in the Norselands, the art of war was to be expected amongst every man and woman.

Despite being a vast, open steppe land, that braves more snow than any other known country, the Norselands have always been a land filled with patriotic people, willing to give their lives not just for their superiors and hierarchy, but for themselves and families. Norselandic people had many wars throughout its history, mostly with the closest world not far across the Arctic Blue Sea. The country across the sea, Elswer, was inhabited by a race of elves that have always had a thirst for conquering other nations or civilizations, and spreading their influence and beliefs. The Norselanders and Elswerians have fought constant wars, with both sides achieving victory or defeat. However, the last great war between the two superpower nations ended over 20 years ago, with losses on both sides so great, the war came at a ceasefire. It was then that the Norselandic people had a shift in leadership, which sent the country down a terrifying path.

In the Norselands, there are many rulers, commonly known as Overlords or Stewards, which held different sections of the country, also known as holds. Amongst these five holds and their leaders, one would be elected to become the High King, the ruler of all the Norselands. However, after the last war, the High King at the time suffered death due to a harsh sickness, and a new ruler came into power, and quickly turned the country into a hostile environment. The new High King, Zivon, instilled fear amongst the Norselandic people, using special forces and secret police to make sure the people would never try to rebel against their current tyrant's rule. No one was to ever cross the Arctic Blue Sea, or the far away sea to the East, the Norselandic Gulf. To the Eastern seas and beyond, word spoke of worlds and countries not well known amongst most Norselandic people, and most never dared to venture out, fearing more hostile people like the Elswerians lurked.

As night approached, the two Norselanders made their trip back to their home town, Ostgrad. The town, like many in the open steppes in the Norselands, had a population of about 200 people, with most of the houses being somewhat modern with a mix of brick and log cabin style house. It was located to the far West of the country, but not nearly close enough to any large bodies of water or city. Towns like these made their lives off crops and sold them to the far away cities. Despite this, education was still decent amongst everyone in the Norselands, even if stranded miles away from more populated civilizations.

By the time they got back, Nikoli's mother was preparing the already planned meal of the night.

"Ahh, you're back already!?" she said "Sara, come into the kitchen, Nikoli and Dad are home!"

Nikoli's sister rushed in to come see her brother and father, appearing out of breath.

"Boys, why so early home? Get anything good?" she asked in eager.

"No, just one wolf, and there is one more thing…we lost one of our horses, due to Nikoli missing his shot and failing his test," said the father disgruntled and began muttering to himself under his breath.

The mother turned to the men, looking once at Nikoli, then at the father. She could see the shame on Nikoli's pale white face.

"We will make due then, nobody is perfect my son. However, now we have to find another horse in due time. Winter is coming. Unfortunately, we will have to ask you to give up some of your allowance now so we can afford another one," his mother said.

"I know…," Nikoli murmured, his face beginning to retake its original tone thanks to warming up in the house.

"Now, go wash your hands, both of you!" said both parents.

Nikoli went up to his room, which was well cleaned before he embarked on his hunting trip with his father today. He went to his bathroom, turned on the sink and began washing both his hands and face. He then looked into the mirror and began to talking to himself.

"You are better than this, come on! One shot, you've done it before…you've…," he gave a large sigh.

Nikoli is a normally sized boy for his age, with hair as black as night that went down to his neck and parted down the middle from the front. Growing up, he tended to his normal distance runs out in the plains and steppes, to make sure he was always in shape. Nikoli is pretty lean but still slightly well built, thanks to being used to working out and helping out his family. He stands at about 5' 10", with features from both his mother and father. He has his mother's large and round hazel eyes that turned color in different shades of light. This was a typical Norselandic feature genetically. His nose is sharp, resembling his father's, and lips that resembled his mother's side of the family. Like most Norselandic males, Nikoli has very thick hair all over his body, but did not develop much chest hair like most of his kin. This was made up for by the traditional thickness in hair, both on his head and legs.

Sara came into Nikoli's room, and saw him talking to himself.

"Nik, don't get upset over stuff like this. I know it cost us a lot by losing a horse, but hey, I never liked that horse!" she said with a chuckle.

The boy laughed with her smart ass remark. Sara was never fond of horses, due to being tragically allergic to them. He smiled and turned around to look at her.

"You always know how to make things positive and hilarious, Kookie."

Sara and Nikoli grew up giving each other their own nicknames, which developed over early childhood. Sara got the name Kookie from early on during home schooling. During school one time, she spelled cookie wrong by adding a K in place of the C. From then on, Nikoli proceeded to call her Kookie, and the name stuck. Nik was just an easier way to say Nikoli's name, but he would only allow Sara to call him that.

The two are twins, Sara being the oldest by just a minute. Sara has the same features like Nikoli, only standing an inch shorter than him. Sara has long hair down to middle back; only the difference was she has dark brown, straight hair like her father's. They share the same eye shape and color, except Sara bragged about how her eyes shined gold in sunlight, rather than any other more likely colors. She is always more proud of herself and always made it known to her brother.

Comparing the two, Nikoli and Sara love adventure. They would make up their own fantasy of being outside the Norselands and into a vast world of mythical creatures, playing out in any sort of weather while doing it. They had their own friendly rivalry while at it. Nikoli is a very outgoing person, though tries to keep calm and relaxed most of the time, needing private space away from others. He has a vivid imagination, a lover of nature, and goes out on strolls even without his sister, usually wondering what adventures lurked outside the world he knew. He is usually confident in himself, though realizing he is not perfect. He is also prone to being a grudge holder, and makes his past mistakes haunt him a lot whenever he makes one, however. He accepts the fact he is never always right and will mistakes from time to time, the missing of the wolf being his latest. Sara is always a bit more bragging of her abilities and talents. While both have a talent for musical abilities, she is the musician of the family. Also having an imagination, she too would dream of an outside world, composing music that made her think about it.

As the two began heading downstairs to eat dinner, the sibling's father called out to Nikoli.

"Son, can you go fetch the paper, I didn't even think about retrieving it today."

Nikoli, without a word spoken, obeyed and went out to get the newspaper. As he went outside, he realized the paper was not where it usually is placed. Confused, he began looking around the house to find it. Finally, he found it buried underneath newly coated snow just a few yards away from the mailbox. As he turns around, Nikoli saw out of the corner of his eye, a man in the distance approaching the house. He turned toward the man, realizing his clothes seemed a bit too overdressed for most Norselandic people, as most are hardy and pretty resistant to the cold. As the mysterious man came closer, Nikoli realized this man was not from Ostgrad. The man, face hidden under a thick hood and scarf covering his face, approached Nikoli.

"Excuse me sir, I do not believe you are from this area. Who are you may I ask?" asked Nikoli.

The man, without hesitation, spoke out with a little chuckle at first.

"Haha, my my if it isn't Laura's child after all. It has been ten years since I have seen you or your sister, Sara. My apologies, you probably will not recognize me. Is it okay if I come in and speak with your mother?"

Nikoli paused for a second, getting defensive at why this stranger wants to speak with his mother, or how he even knows himself or his sister.

"I…I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about. I have not met any man outside my town that had any relations to my mother."

Nikoli's mother came outside to see what was taking her son so long. As she was about to call out for her son, she saw him with this mysterious man.

"Excuse me sir, who are you and why are you talking to my son?" she asked without any hesitation.

He turned to the woman answering, "I am but an old friend of yours Laura, from a land far across the Norselandic Gulf. I am here to discuss some matters with you. Matters I think you may now remember hopefully."

Nikoli's mother gasped with such intensity, her eyes widening and jaw dropping. She was speechless, and quickly came rushing out and hugged the man with such force, his hood fell, revealing his face.

"Nikoli, go inside and fetch another plate, this man has always been welcome to our home," she demanded. "You, your sister, father, and I have much to discuss once my friend and I have a long conversation and reunion."

Nikoli, still confused at what was happening, obeyed and went inside, walking to see his sister and father staring outside the window at the man and mother.

"What is happening Dad…who is this man?" asked Sara.

As he looked at the two outside, the father looked at both of them and said, "Children, the next few moments we are about to have are going to change your lives forever, in ways you have no way of imagining."