The Architects of the Downfall

A flash of light was all that was needed to set off the chain of horrific events that were soon to follow on that dreadful night.

Next came the frantic screams and desperate footsteps as they pierced the once eerie silence. Panic was thick in the air as a young girl burst through the undergrowth. There was no moonlight to guide her as she ran unseeingly through the dense forest.
She knew now that she was alone, and yet she wasn't. They had found them. They were here.
An overhanging branch hit the frightened girl in the face as she sprinted through the thicket. She bled, but she never stopped. In her frenzy, the girls once heightened senses, were now diminished to that of a freshly blind child running terrified from a pack of hungry wolves. Stumbling and tripping over anything that lay at her feet as the ravenous dogs grew closer and closer, snapping angrily at her heels. The wood seemed endless, as if she were running through an infinite time loop, feeling nothing but eternal terror as she ran and ran.
A tear trailed across her cheek, mixing with the blood that was now dripping from her face. She prayed she would not see another flash of light as she dimly heard the shouts behind her getting closer.

Despite the adrenaline, her legs were growing tired and her lungs were aching in her hysteria. Her pace was beginning to slow. She should have known better than to think she could outrun a Feras.
She needed to calm down. She needed a plan.

The girl turned sharply to the left. Using nothing but her nerve-shot instincts she dove head first into the gnarled, hollow stump of what was once, when living, no doubt a tall and beautiful elm tree. She crawled in as far as she could, hoping the darkness would conceal her. The shouts were now louder than ever.

"Where are you?"

"There's no point in running little girl!"

Hunching over, the girl began to breathlessly whisper something that sounded like an incantation to herself.
The sound of treading feet were now a mere stone's throw away. One. Two. Three. Four…Five. Five pairs of boots thundered their way towards her hiding spot.
The girl whispered faster.

Her hands began to glow faintly in the darkness, growing in intensity the closer they got. She held her breath as they approached, hiding her hands best she could, hoping that she wouldn't need to use them. They were now directly upon her.

She braced herself just as the first man ran by her without stopping.

The next two followed, both shouting obscenities.

The fourth, cackling in an ugly manner, passed the lone stump without a second glance.

The girl let out the silent breath she had been holding as she saw the last of the group bringing up the rear. A sense of immense relief washed over her as she thought to herself how easily she had out-smarted them. She readied herself to begin running in the opposite direction as soon as the men were out of earshot.

I can do this…I'm going to live…I can get away…

"Wait!"

It was the single most horrifying word she could have heard at that moment. All internal celebration stopped as she realised how stupid she was for believing it could have been that easy. The panic now returned tenfold as she no longer heard the sound of footfall.

"What is it?" one of the men called, sounding agitated that the hunt had been called to an untimely halt.

"I can sense something" a closer voice said. She could hear him sniffing the air, as if trying to taste her scent. "She's here somewhere" She heard another one let out a beastly snarl.

"I can smell her blood" The girl quickly tried to wipe the accusing red substance off her cheek with her sleeve, but she realised it was now too late.

"Oh really?" there were a few sounds of shuffling that the girl couldn't place, until one let out a sickly laugh and began walking closer to her hiding spot "Come out, come out where ever you are"

The girl shook in fear as she realised this was nothing more than a game to them. The tears never stopped as the mana in her hands pulsated rapidly along with her heart beat.

Everything was silent again. Not even the faint rustle of woodland creatures could be heard. There was no soothing night time breeze. There were no insects chirping in the distance. It was almost unnatural. And it made the girl feel completely exposed as she waited to meet her inevitable end.

Suddenly she heard a whisper from one of the men. It was quiet, but it was close. Too close. She was almost certain she was supposed to hear it. The words made her blood run cold with hate as soon as the words left the filthy lips of the group leader.
"You're going to meet the same sticky end as your friend, you know that?"

That night, fire engulfed the wood. It left not a trace of the travesty that happened on the eve of the new age.

Setsuna sat at the breakfast table, eagerly eyeing up the hearty meal being dished up in front of her. It had been some time since she had had such a generous meal, but thanks to the unexpected success in her hunt the night before, she realised they could afford a little luxury.

"I've seen dogs that 'ave been starved for days that've looked less 'ungry than you" Chuckled the elderly woman from beside the cooking pot as she placed a few more hunks of wild boar into the wooden bowl. "People'd think we don't feed you two and a 'alf meals a day" She placed Setsuna's breakfast in front of her and ruffled the girl's dark hair and she began devouring the food.

In between the third and fourth mouth full, the muffled appreciation was expressed in the two simple words "Thanks Maya" though they were waved off as if cooking the meat was nothing to be thanked for. Maya was a homely woman. She had loved to cook as long as she's been able to hold a wooden spoon, and nothing made her happier. She had taken Setsuna in when she was younger and made sure she never went hungry. And since then, had shown her more love and compassion than she ever thought she deserved.

She was the mother figure in Setsuna's life that she'd never had.

And she's got the breasts to prove it Setsuna thought with a grin, before pushing the now empty dish away.

"Well, well finished already? Will you be wantin' seconds?" Maya chanted in the thick accent that was common to all Brevan folk. Brandishing her ladle she gave Setsuna a questioning look "and what're you smirkin' at?"

Setsuna's smile only widened as she shook her head and stood up from her seat "No thanks, I'll save the rest for Eito, he'll no doubt be hungry" She looked around and quickly changed the subject before Maya could enquire anymore about why she was grinning "Where is he anyway?"

Maya rolled her eyes in a playful manner "Oh he's been 'avin' a run in with them crows all week" She spoke in an exasperated tone about her husband, but the small twinkle in her eye as she continued to bad mouth him showed nothing but love "You know 'im, silly old codger, thinks every bird 'as a personal grudge against 'im or somethin'"

Setsuna felt her insides twinge at the spirited banter from the older woman but she made sure not to show it. Instead she just shook her head as she watched Maya wash the dishes and continued to rant about her other half. She was about to slip back into her room until the brown haired woman stopped mid-speech and gave her a quick "Oi" and beckoned her back over with her wet hands.

"Before you go sneaking off back into yer room, Eito reminded me that we need more fire wood. The useless lumps gotta bit of a bad back at the moment. You think you could be a dear and go an' get some?" she asked in a kindly voice, only a woman of her age could have as she dried her hands on her apron and tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her hair.
Setsuna gave a deep groan as she slumped her shoulders and shuffled her feet "Aww if I have to" In truth she didn't mind at all, she had a full stomach, she was young, she was full of energy and most of all she had nothing else to do this morning. She just liked bating her beloved carer. It almost always worked.

"Child! I were doin' far worse things than collectin' wood at your age believe me! Dunno how easy you lotta got it nowadays, I'll tell you tha' fer nothin'. Worked to the bone I were!" Setsuna was still laughing as she finally slid through the makeshift door to her bedroom.

The room she had slept in for the past seven years was a small one with a low ceiling and exposed beams that even Setsuna, as short as she was, would bang her head on every now and then if she wasn't paying attention. There was just enough room inside for her scratchy, straw stuffed bed and a thin, yet tall wardrobe in which she stored her clothes and hunting equipment. Walking over to it she opened its doors and pulled out what she needed before stripping herself of her sleepwear and throwing it to the side. Without missing a beat, she pulled a pair of dark woollen breeches over her legs and a plain white linen shirt over her bound chest. She topped the ensemble off with an indigo dyed quilted vest that buttoned down the front for warmth and a pair of leather braces on her wrists that she seemed to put on as a matter of course lately.
Finally retrieving her long sword case from the back of the cupboard, she closed its door and caught a glimpse of herself in the archaic, cracked mirror on the front of it. Many of the children in the village mocked her for dressing so boyish and hunting when she should be at home cooking like a real woman. Though, Setsuna knew all too well that the taunts of minors were the least of Setsuna's worries when it came to being shunned by the village.

Shaking her head, Setsuna thought of happier things. Maya and Eito.
She truly did love her two caregivers. They had taken her in regardless of what everybody else in the village had said about her and despite all the grief she had given them, had never looked back when they decided to take her under their wing that night they found her. She was truly thankful and one day she would make it all up to them.
Smiling sadly to her reflection Setsuna slung her overly large sword, Yuunagi, over her shoulder and walked out of her bedroom.

As she passed through the kitchen to the backdoor she flung a goodbye over her shoulder at Maya and stepped out into the cold fresh air. The sun was just peaking over the tops of the trees that made the forest lining the field of crops that Eito tended to, though at this time of year, there were only root vegetables growing as nothing else could withstand the harsh conditions.
Slipping on her worn, slightly frozen shoes on that she'd left outside the night before, Setsuna made her way over to the adjoining outbuilding, not too far away from the main house. Eito simply called it his 'shack'. In it he kept most of his tools and equipment he required to do his job in providing his small family with enough food to last them the winter and Setsuna knew there would be an axe in there for her to use.

The only problem was that Eito wasn't the most organised of people. As soon as Setsuna opened the door she was howling in pain as a rather large shovel fell out and landed square on her foot.

"Damn you Eito!" she shouted, clutching her foot and hopping around. She realised that she should have known better, but continued to curse her father-figure at the top of her lungs before she fell to the ground to check her toe wasn't broken.

"Did I 'ear someone slanderin' my good name?" A deep, yet jolly voice boomed. Looking up, Setsuna saw Eito hobbling round the side of his shack with what looked like a poorly constructed scarecrow with its potato sack head flopping from side to side, resting loosely over his right shoulder. Eito was a stout, barrel chested man and like his wife, he was 'of a certain age'. Though despite reporting a new ailment every week, he was still a rather fit and healthy man, the only tell-tail signs of aging on him being that his once dark brown hair was greying considerably at the sides.

He looked down at Setsuna with his ever present smile only to have it returned with a not so happy glare "Damn right you did! I think I broke my toe because of you!" She retorted before looking back down at her foot and massaging it under the thin upper part of her shoe "or at least bruised it" She mumbled under her breath.

"Blimey! What 'appened to you? Become a ruddy great wimp you 'ave" He chuckled as he extended his hand to help his adopted daughter up "Remember when you firs' came to us, hard as nails you were. I reckon you coulda taken a right proper lashin' an' never raised an eyebrow. Now look at ya"

Setsuna, despite trying her best to look irritated couldn't help but let the heart-felt laugh escape her throat "Well I think that's definitely your influence Eito." She said with a wry smile "Guess I just got too used to you" At this Eito feigned indignation and threw the scarecrow to the floor. He then made the motion to whop Setsuna across the head, who saw it coming from a mile away and expertly dodged the blow and countered it with a fist of her own.

The two continued their mock sparring for about twenty minutes, exchanging over-dramatic punches and slow motion kicks until Eito surrendered at the mercy of the raven haired girl.

"Alrigh', alrigh' I take it all back" he said, confirming her victory, which she smugly accepted "Now what did ya need from me shack?" he asked, moving over to pick up the fallen shovel.

"Just an axe and something to carry the firewood" Setsuna replied.

She watched as Eito gave a small nod in affirmation and disappeared inside his cluttered shed. There were a few clanging noises that could be heard through the open door way, and more than a few swear words, until the man finally emerged with the two items. The large iron axe in one hand and what looked like an oversized hessian bag with rope straps attached to either side, in the other.
He threw them both one at a time to Setsuna, mildly disappointed when she caught the axe easily by the handle without panicking and jumping out of the way.

"Well, I'll be off then. This shouldn't take long, an hour and a half maybe…two hours tops" she said waving her axe hand goodbye at Eito, who picked up his scarecrow and began flapping its straw filled arm side to side at her. Setsuna simply shook her head and carried on her way, down the dirt path that lined the field and led into the woods. She briefly looked back at the old wattle and daub house, she had come to call home and one she'd had had many happy memories in. It was only a little (or 'cosy' as Maya liked to put it) farmhouse, but as it was built for a Brevan to dwell in, there was no surprise that it was smaller than most.
The Brevan were a very short race of people. Eito, a fully grown man of forty-eight, was barely an inch taller than Setsuna herself who was only to turn sixteen in little more than three weeks. She looked forward to the day when she actually became taller than him. Setsuna vowed that he would never live it down.

Holding this thought for a few more moments, she continued along the path until the house was obscured by the numerous spindly trees on the outskirts of the soon to be dense forest. She vaguely wished that these trees would be good enough to cut down for firewood but she knew, at this time of year, she had no choice but to go in deeper and search for a decently sized ash tree and chop its thick braches off.

She was barely ten minutes into her walk when Setsuna came across the slight clearing that allowed the cold morning sunlight to shine down through, the otherwise thick, canopy in vivid lustrous beams. She noticed smears of frozen blood glisten on the dead leaves that lined the forest floor and she realised that this was the site of her first kill last night. She thought it bazaar that it was so easy, especially during this cold weather, not many of the few animals ventured so close to the icy edges of the woodland. Yet this Wild Boar almost seemed to run to her, as if… spooked by something.
Setsuna shook her head. She was probably thinking too much into it. Instead, she decided to put it behind her and simply count her blessings as she continued deeper.

Setsuna stood at the edge of a small trickling stream, that had not yet frozen over. It worked as somewhat of a landmark to her and if memory served her well, there was a sizable ash little more than a kilometre away on the other side of its bank.
The stream, though barely knee height, was fairly wide she noticed. Deciding it wouldn't do her any good to get her feet wet in the kind of weather, Setsuna began looking along the edge of the stream for a rock large enough to be thrown in the middle and act as a stepping stone.

As she searched, she let her mind wander for a second. She began making a mental plan, deciding how many braches she could carry back and whether she could challenge herself by carrying the equivalent of her own weight.
She had just settled on the idea of carrying at least eight large branches when she heard something that startled her out of her train of thought immediately.

Setsuna stopped in her tracks and quickly scanned her surroundings. Straining her ears, she listened.

Firewood was now suddenly the furthest thing from her mind. Her attentive and composed warrior persona took over immediately. Reaching around soundlessly, she drew Yuunagi in one swift motion and held the sword loosely in her calloused hands.

She had heard a voice. It was low and muffled, but she was certain it was close.

If there was one thing that could be said about Setsuna, it was that she was a suspicious person.
She trusted no one other than her two adoptive parents. Nobody.

Silence fell as she waited for another sound. She stood stock still, the only movement being her thumb as it warily prodded the tsuba at the base of her long blade.

Five minutes went by. There wasn't another sound. Sighing, Setsuna relaxed her stance.

Perhaps it was noth-

"Mmm-el…mmlp" There it was. There were no doubts in Setsuna's mind now.

The voice was coming from a small ditch a few yards away from where she was standing. She tried to keep a cool head as she figured out what to do.

First she wanted to know what she was up against.

Using the skills she'd learned in her sword training she channelled a small amount her Ki in the direction of the potential threat. She sensed that, whatever it was, was weak. Probably injured.

She still wasn't going to take any chances though as she inched over.

It moaned again. It sounded human.

And feminine.

Something snapped inside her. Throwing caution to the wind, Setsuna dashed the rest of the distance to the edge of the ditch. Looking down, she gasped at what she saw.

It was a girl, no older than Setsuna herself, wearing strange clothes she'd never before seen. She was lying on her back in the muddy bank, half of her body was immersed in the icy cold water and she was shivering. Her long, brunette hair looked singed at the ends and it matted messily across her incredibly beautiful face. Her breathing looked slightly laboured and her eye lids fluttered as if she was finding it difficult to stay conscious.

Setsuna was awe-struck. Not knowing what else to do, she spoke down to the broken looking girl.

"Are..you okay?" She knew it was a stupid question, but it caught the girl's limited attention. Her eye lids opened ever so slightly wider, exposing irises of deep brown underneath them as she blearily tried to focus on Setsuna's face.

"H-Hel…me"

Setsuna looked around in exasperation. Should she really help? Other than Maya and Eito, nobody in this world had ever shown her kindness before. Besides, for all she knew this could still be a trap, someone could have beaten this poor girl up and plated her as bait. It wasn't uncommon and she'd overheard several stories in the village of such a thing happening.

What the hell should I do? She has always felt that indecision was a plague on her life. A pestilence that must be avoided at all costs. Either you do, or you don't. If you waver in-between the two, nothing good will ever come from it.

Closing her eyes, Setsuna tried the swallow the bitter taste in her mouth as she made her decision.

"P-Please" This was the final plea the girl made before she slipped into a deep sleep. The last thing she saw was the handsome girl with the jet black as she turned her back on her and walked away.

A/N: I've always wanted to write a fantasy-ish story where I can develop my own story and create my own world, and since I love writing Negima (*ahem* Konosetsu) fanfiction, I thought why the hell not. Besides, I'm a bit butthurt after hearing that the manga is ending T^T so I need something Negima related to keep be occupied.

So here goes. This won't be a typical fantasy though, as you will see why a lot later. On which point I must add that I plan on making this fairly long. Just how long I don't know yet, we shall see how it goes. I just pray that you all like it/keep with it when it does finally take off. I also can't guarantee smooth update intervals. As it stands I'm most of the way through the second chapter but it's anyone's guess from then on :P

So if you would be so kind to review, it would very much appreciated!
4,000 words may not seem a lot…but my god it actually took quite a lot of time and effort . Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous about it and I just hope it turned out okay.