AN: Hey guys, I'm Jaida-chan and this is my first fanfic so if you wouldn't mind goin a lil' easy on me? Just to warn y'all I've changed a few things and those changes are listed at the bottom ok? Well I hope you enjoy my story! R&R!
THE CHOSEN
by Jaida-chan
PROLOGUE:
Long ago Erde was peaceful, the three ruling kingdom's on the coast of the sea of storm were quiet, living separately but without hostility. The Watchers always wondered how great a power Erde would become if the three kingdoms were unified, that however was not to be.
In the north were the Maedonians, a near silent people shrouded in mystery. Their dark hair and pale skin made them seem only that much more strange to their southern neighbors.
To the southwest lay Ishtarl, the kingdom of the Ishtarlak who ruled with exploding powder and crystals of enormous power. Believing themselves above all other beings, their arrogance was barely contained by their need to trade with the other two kingdoms. This was because in Ishtarl there was no lower working class; there was only the Monarchy, the bureaucracy, and the vast Ishtarlak army. Most were blonde or had ash colored hair with blue eyes of varying intensity.
East of Ishtarl was Simaeron, a docile kingdom without a real political hierarchy that was split into two parts. The brown-eyed brunette people who worked the land and the red headed emerald-eyed Fair Folk. The Fair Folk lived in the deep forests of the Simaeronian Mountains and they ruled Simaeron with a kind and gentle hand, though those same hands could do incredible things, things using powers incomprehensible to the human mind. Unfortunately the Fair Folk had sworn to their gods never to harm another living creature and so they were vulnerable.
However, no peace can last forever, and when it came to Emperor Toda Ken's attention that the Fair Folk were hiding large amounts of gold in their mountain homes he was overcome by greed. It didn't take long before he was leading an immense army into Simaeron, burning the forests and killing any who resisted their rule. All of the Simaeronian people were enslaved and of the Fair Folk... none survived.
With her dying breath the Queen of the Fair Folk spoke these words to the Ishtarlak Emperor:
"Remember this day, for you have your victory; the people of Simaeron are your slaves and my people have been destroyed by your armies. But a day will come when you will fall before a power greater even than that of your people."
"A boy, colder than ice and stronger than steel, will be your bane. A wolf among sheep he will be the rebellion's arm and both his strength and bravery will be legend. In his hands a star will be born and you will fall on your knees before him."
"A girl warmer than sunlight who shines brighter still will be born of our blood. A flower of beauty and compassion, she will love a wolf and break the world."
"A being born of incredible magic will guide The Chosen Ones, and one of wolves blood will give her a heart. Like a thief she will steal the flames from your fires and the water from your rivers, the air will follow her beck and call and the earth will rise at her command. It is through her humanity that control will be found and the world will be healed once more."
"With the strength of these three chosen: The Wolf, The Flower, and The Thief the horrors you have set into motion will be stopped. You will know them by their guardians: The Sun, The Moon, The Healer, and The Dancer... I, Daliandre, aided by The Sight pronounce this to be truth."
The Emperor was livid when he heard this pronouncement and while he had earlier hoped to make Daliandre his wife he now ordered her death. Little did he know a young girl stood in the depths of the trees watching the scene play out before her, "I will make sure your vision comes true, my descendent will be the Flower. You will see the Ishtarlak fall, mother, from your place in heaven."
And so it was that every female born of Daliandre's lineage had emerald green eyes and honey red hair, however, only one girl was found in each generation no matter how many sons were born. The prediction of Daliandre became the hope of the Simaeronian people and for six hundred years they awaited the coming of the chosen. Until one day a young boy with eyes the amber of wolves was born to the leader of the Resistance, Li Syaoran was his name and from the beginning, when he opened his eyes silently observed the world he was now a part of, they knew he had a calling...
The wind whispered through the woods, "The Wolf hath come..."
A young pregnant woman squeezed her husband's hand and screamed. From the corner her other child, an eight year old boy, watched in terror as his mother went into labor.
The midwife was nearby and as she knelt over Kinomoto Nadeshiko she frowned sadly, "I'm sorry sir but... I cannot save your wife, she has a tumor on her heart and the efforts of giving birth to a breeched baby will be too much for her. You must choose either I save the baby or I give your wife a few more hours to live..."
Nadeshiko gripped the woman's arm, "Save my baby, please! Save my little Sakura-chan!"
Fujitaka nodded grimly; silently he took his son by the hand and led him to Nadeshiko's side.
She looked up at them sadly, "I'm so glad I got to spend these past few years with you my love, and Touya, my sweet I will miss you terribly."
"Where are you going mommy?" Touya asked, his voice trembling as he tried to grab his mother's hand, "Will you come back?"
"No my sweet," Nadeshiko whispered, "I go to the lovely place in the sky where all the gods are and I'm afraid I will not return. But I will wait for you there and one day we will meet again."
"Oh Nadeshiko," Fujitaka squeezed her hand, "I love you, and I always will..."
Touya cried as his father dragged him from the room, "Mommy! Please don't go! I love you... MOMMY!"
The door slammed shut and Nadeshiko was left with no one but the midwife and her pain, "Make it quick, and make sure... make sure Sakura never knows that I died this way."
The midwife nodded and calmly she stabbed Nadeshiko through the heart, ending her pain, before she opened the woman's abdomen with a swift vertical stroke. Carefully she withdrew the baby and cut the umbilical cord that was wrapped around the infant's neck.
The midwife shuddered slightly, this baby would have died had she been forced through the birth canal... strangled by her own umbilical cord.
Gently, the midwife cleaned and wrapped the baby in warm blankets and exited the room. Silently she placed the babe in Fujitaka's arms, "Her last wish was that Sakura never know of how her mother died."Fujitaka and Touya nodded silently in firm agreement, and returned to gaze at the beautiful honey haired baby that was whimpering softly. The brilliant emerald eyes of the child were identical to the ones Nadeshiko's mother had had. She was a lovely baby who would grow to an even lovelier woman.
It was with love and pride that Fujitaka held his small daughter and both father and son swore on that day to protect Sakura as they could not have protected Nadeshiko. Sakura would grow up to be as pure and beautiful as the flower she was named after...
The earth sang through the mountains, "The Flower has taken seed..."
A cold room, lit only by a few sputtering torches, currently housed the great stone. The holy artifact pf the Ishtarlak people, a stone that had made the conquering of the Fair Folk possible, a stone that now pulsed with newly awakened power.
It was because of this new power that Istharl's greatest sorcerers were gathered together in the cold dank cellar of the palace, and it was the reason that four-year-old Eriol Hiiragizawa was drawn there. Only a child, and yet still much more powerful than any sorcerer who worked for the Emperor, his blue hair only made him stand out that much more.
Frowning slightly Eriol retreated to a corner, curling his little body into the corner, knowing something was coming. He watched, as the pulsing of the stone grew greater until it dominated the room. Slowly each of the sorcerers froze and a shimmering mist rose from each of them only to be absorbed by the stone. Istharl's greatest sorcerers were now nothing more than normal men, their powers gone.
Less than a minute after the stone absorbed the last shimmering mist of power, the pulsing stopped, and the stone shattered. Eriol released the shield he had erected, knowing now why he had been drawn here. Walking slowly past the babbling men, he climbed up the alter steps and looked down at where the crystal used to be. In the place of the pulsing stone was now a blonde baby girl.
Slowly she opened her glowing stormy purple eyes and all sound was silenced in the room. Eriol shivered with amazement and feared to touch the infant. Not out of fear for the child, but out of fear that he would desecrate something so holy as this child; for in those eyes lay all the secrets and power of the universe... Shaking little Eriol gathered the baby in his arms and discovered that the soft glow of her eyes had died down to an amazing shade of violet but without anything supernatural about it. He smiled and made his way carefully to his frantic nurse where he uttered the first words the lady had ever heard, "I found an angel."
Sixteen-year-old Todashi Mai jerked upwards in bed gasping for breath, her rough spun gown clinging to her sweat soaked flesh, that dream again!
Eriol was at her side in seconds, "Mai-chan? Are you alright?"
"Master?" She looked up at him blankly then shook the sleep from her eyes, "I am fine master. I simply had a strange dream."
"You're not fine," Eriol said quietly, "If you were you wouldn't be calling me Master in private."
Mai smiled, "You know me far to well Eriol-kun."
He said nothing waiting for an explanation.
Mai smiled softly, "I keep having this dream about you as a child in a cellar, and this stone that turns into a baby."
She looked up at him with pleading violet eyes, "A violet eyed baby."
Eriol ran his fingers through her long blonde hair in a soothing fashion; he was four years her senior but he acted as if he were her father, or at least a brother. Shaking his head softly he looked down into her bright eyes, "That was how you were born."
"What?" She shook her head violently, "No that can't be! My mother was a maid, my father some lordling who used her and left her. I can't be this... this stone child."
"Yes my angel that is what happened," He smiled sadly, "It is the reason why I made you my slave, to protect you from what the Emperor would do to you. You are safe this way." He shook his head slowly, "So long as they think you are nothing more than a maid's bastard child you are safe."
Mai hugged him tightly tears streaming down her cheeks, "All this time I never knew... I hated my mother for abandoning me but she didn't did she? I never had a mother... Oh gods! I'm so sorry!"
When she had calmed down slightly she looked into his eyes, "Does this mean I am not human?"
"I do not know for sure," Eriol said quietly, "You were raised to be a human but at the same time you are different."
Mai nodded silently, she lay back down and turned on her side pretending to be asleep. Eriol knowing this as the dismissal it was stood and returned to his own bed, some day she would learn her part in the prophecy, some day she would truly be human and the power within her would be unleashed. He only hoped that the Wolf and the Flower found their strength as well...
And like that day sixteen years ago the flames of the torches and the water in the basin all vibrated with excitement, "The Thief has come at last..."
And in the silence of the night, voices could be heard chanting in unison, "Awaken Chosen Ones, Erde hath need of you now..."
AN: Sorry this chappy is so short! I promise the next one will be waaaaaaay longer! Hopefully I'll get some comments from you guys (nice ones please... if at all possible...) and chapter one will be up soon!
Changes:
Kero is a human and Tomoyo's brother; he can change his shape into the true form of Cereberus.
Yue is the alias Yukito uses when he's working.
Li Syaoran has a cousin named Li Kai who is the son of one of the Elders.
Ages (starting in chapter one):
(Oldest – youngest)
Tereda Yoshiyuki – 26
Kinomoto Touya – 24
Tsukshiro Yukito – 24
Li Syaoran – 20
Hiiragizawa Eriol – 20
Tetsuba Fu Sho – 19
Daidouji Kero – 19
Li Kai – 19
Yamazaki Takashi – 18
Daidouji Tomoyo – 17
Mihara Chiharu - 16
Sasaki Rika – 16
Kinomoto Sakura – 16
Todashi Mai – 16
Yanagizawa Naoko – 16