Prologue:
Aiko smelled the smoke, saw the fire. This could not be good. She ran through the forest trying to desperately find her village. She followed the smoke. It stung and burned her eyes as she ran. Her violet dress ripped and tore as she ran through the underbrush. Her feet were totally scratched up and beginning to bleed.
Then she heard the screams.
She began to run faster and faster until she reached the village, her village. Then, out of nowhere, came the clearing. And there it stood. Her village, burning to the ground. She could see the helpless townspeople running through the fire to salvage some personal items or to find family. They were just shadows in the orange inferno.
"Aiko!" she turned to see who had called her name in the frenzy. All she saw was another shadow in the blaze. As she looked closer she found it to be her mother. "Aiko, AIKO!!!" her mother called.
"Mom! Mom I'm here!" Without realization, Aiko ran into the fire. She dodged all sorts of burning timber and falling obstacles until she reached her mother. She was crouched down in the dirt. Trying to find something, it seemed. "Mom! We have to get out of here! The village is burning to the ground!" Then she saw that her mother's leg was twisted into a non-natural way.
"Aiko, dear. My leg is dead. There is no way I can get out of here fast enough. Leave, now!" she said in a stern voice. "Save yourself. I've seen all I need to see in my humble life. I have already fulfilled my life's purpose. And here she is, being the girl I raised her to be. Stubborn as you may be, you need to leave without me. I'll do my best to get out. If I don't," she kissed her daughters cheek, "Just know that my soul will always lie in you. Now run." Aiko hugged her mother for the last time and turned around and ran. She ran from the center of the village where her mother lay burning. She ran until she could see the clearing in view. Then it happened.
A falling piece of timber fell on her, pinning her to the ground. It started burning. She tried to muster up her energy to throw it off, but she couldn't. She lay there, knowing that she would be reunited with he mother soon. She would do all in her power to destroy the person responsible for this tragedy. She saw him. He was in clear view. It was a knight from the neighboring country. He was not much older than she, but strangely had snow-white hair. He had on a suit of black armor with his master's white coat-of-arms in the center of it. The last thing Aiko saw was this man riding away on a black horse that blended in with his armor. He seemed to be flying away to leave the burning people to die. Little did he know all he was doing was creating a fire of revenge in the soul of the girl burning under the wood.
As her last tear fell, her new spirit awoke.