Carried By Magic Wind

The crowd was gaping, but Sarevok paid them no heed. Four people were running towards them, an extraordinary woman in the lead. She ran like a feline beast, the leaves of her kimono flapping in the wind. Her skin was ethereal gold, and her shiny hair was falling from a loose bun as she ran. Her oval face was dominated by a pair of large dark eyes, sparking with determination and emotion. She was slender, and her ears were slightly pointed.

Sarevok could not turn his gaze away, nor see anyone else. I know her, he thought absurdly. I have known her for...

Mei ran. She had noticed that there were several people riding the dragon. However, as she approached a presence even more magnificent than the dragon itself stole her attention. The largest man Mei had ever seen, large even for a gaijin, had dismounted the celestial wyrm and kept gazing at her. His tan angular features were very handsome to Mei's eyes, his grim, noble mouth bespeaking rare passion. But his eyes were the most special ones Mei had ever seen. They shone golden and amber, burning, demanding. There was an ancient pain etched in them, stemming from the depth of this man's soul. A rishi... son of celestial ones. The gaijin bushi.

And I know him, Mei thought. I have always known him...

Yukemori, too, noticed the bald large warrior at first. He was certainly a sight to behold, but there were other people riding the dragon as well. There was a muscular woman, short for a gaijin, carrying a young child in her arms. Her long hair, unhindered by a plait or a bun, waved around her like a veil or a mane of a warhorse. The color of it was most unusual, the like Yukemori had never seen. It was a mix of deep red and brown. The child also had red hair, but it was tinted with golden brown. The child seemed to have enjoyed the ride and was giggling. The woman lovingly gazed at the child with her greenish-grey eyes. She moved like a trained warrior.

There was a babbling small creature with a squeaky voice, leathery wings and bald skull. It hovered around a sunnily dispositioned young girl who for some reason had seen it fit to dye her hair shockingly pink. Perhaps it was a tradition in honor of her ancestors, or perhaps it had a more general religious significance.

The two other people were older than these. A woman, wearing a simple garb of a monk. Her hair curly and long, messy from riding in the wind. Her gentle eyes regarded lovingly a small gaunt man with black hair and feline stature, his expression missing nothing, an inborn skepticism marking his features.

- "Your boon is granted, rishi. Goodbye, may your blade be true," the dragon said in its eerie voice and ascended. The crowd now followed the creature's ascent, and Sarevok walked towards the enchanting woman. Those large sparkling eyes stared straight at the depths of his soul. Can she see, I wonder, my past, my stay in the Abyss...

- "You are Yogenii Wan... rishi... son of the Celestial Ones, risen from the depths of Hell," the woman said.

- "You... have been waiting for me," Sarevok answered, not knowing where the words came from.

The woman nodded and stood there, small and delicate. Still something about her suggested that she was not fragile or helpless at all.

- "There is not much time," she said. "Have you seen Kusatte Iru?"

- "That would be the mountain beastie," said a girl next to the bushi. She was carrying a small child in her arms. "Yes, that is one word for it, I suppose. The beast rose from the sea just as we... wait a minute!" She seemed to remember something.

- "You are... Mei, aren't you?" she said incredulously.

- "I am," Mei answered. "How do you know that?"

- "I dreamed of your mother on our way to Kara-Tur. I was carrying my own child then. She asked me to help you when I find you. She looked like you... even more unreal. She was singing for you... you were just a small babe in her arms."

It was eerie how natural everything seemed. They all knew much about each other, even though they should have not known anything. But still, it was like a jigsaw puzzle with every piece suddenly falling in place. It was as if a magical breeze was carrying them, and no unnecessary questions needed to be asked. This was meant to happen, and they all felt it in their bones.

- "My mother... I never saw her," Mei sad, her eyes softening just a little.

- "Well, if it is any consolation, I never saw mine either, and yours at least seemed less homicidal than mine... er but we can get to that once that Kusatte Iru business is out of the way, yes?" the red-haired woman said. "My name is Peri."

- "I am Sarevok," the large man said, his golden eyes alight with a strange fire.

- "Sarevok..." Mei whispered and instinctively extended her hand towards the man. They held the hand of each other, a magical sense of something otherworldly flowing in between.

- "I will fight this beast. For two things will I do that. I am a spawn of murder most foul, and seek atonement for my dark deeds. And Kozakura must not be destroyed, for there is a debt of honor to be paid. Will you aid me, Mei?"

- "I will."