Another time...
Another world...
In an age of wonder and magic,
were good and evil live in a desperate balance.
A thousand year ago the war happened,
the wizards of light and the sorcerers of dark fought for supremacy and for the power of the cards.
The cards of light and dark.
In the light, they can create.
And in the dark, destroy.
On the bidding of the master of the cards, all is done.
For good or for evil, as the bearer decides.
And so the war was fought, for good or for ill.
And the great age of magic did end,
in fire, destruction and madness.
And all things were cast down from their heights, vanquished.
The mysteries and the wisdoms, lost in the ruins.
A thousand years have passed, a thousand seasons.
The land heals its wounds, the flowers bloom and life continues.......
And the cards which were lost and forgotten.....
have been found.
In the hands of innocence....
a child shall decide the fate of all.
Ancient Treasures:
Chapter 1 - A new day awakens
Warm winds wash over the valley, with the sun rising high into the blue morning sky.
A young girl ,not yet aware of the destiny that awaits her, rises for the morning.............
Sitting up, Sakura looks around her small attic room.
Squinting at the sun in her eyes, she reaches for her slippers.
"Oh bother!" She mumbles, "I'm late!"
Quickly dressing, Sakura runs down stairs to the kitchen.
Stepping in to the large, sunfilled room, she greats the woman standing at the old stove, as she has for the past 11 years of her life.
"Good morning Nell," Sakura said, smiling. "Looks like I'm late again."
Turning around, the grey haired woman smiles in return.
"And when are ye not late my little miss, in the years I have been keep'n for yur' father, brother and ye?"
"Ascept on yur' b'rthday and tha new years, so ye cou'd open ye presents."
She adds, her smile turing into a grin. "Or ta play a prank on ye poor elder brother."
Blushing slightly, Sakura just grins and ducks her head.
"Is father up yet? He was working so very late last night. I was afraid he would spend more time in his study after dinner, instead of getting the sleep he needs."
"Dont ye be worri'in about yur' father now," Nell said, in her thick mountain brouge. "He was up at dawn and ta work soon after. And sleep he had, yes, which he went to after seeing ye to yur's."
Moving to the kitchens wide, old table, Nell pulled one of the big chairs out.
"Now sit yur self down and eat yur breakfast. You've yur studies to do with your da'. And," She said, looking the young girl up and down, from head to tinny toes peeking from through her worn slippers.
"We'll be go'in into the village later to buy ya some new dresses. Those you have are getting mighty short, what with the growing ye been do'in this last year. Yur Father mentioned yur dress's were gettin mighty short as well, and should'nt I a be doing something about it."
Turning away to dishup some of the food on the warmer plate of the stove, Nell missed the scowl that flashed across Sakuras face at the mention of new clothes.
"Why do I need new dresses," She grumped. "My overalls fit fine."
Placing the plate of food before her, Nell just snorted.
"But ye cant be wearin them overoolls all the time, dearie. Yur a girl, and thems mens clothes, and ye need some girls."
"Yur mother was a fine lady, Goddess rest 'er soul," She said. "And I'll not have ye growin up ta be a heathen. Now eat yur breakfast."
Huffing slightly, Sakura picked up her fork and dug in.
After breakfast was done and she had helped Nell clean up the breakfast dishes, Sakura dashed up the stairs to her fathers study on the second floor.
Nocking softly, Sakura waited till she heard her father voice to enter.
"It was never good to interupt a powerful mage in the middle of a spell,"
She thought to herself.
A half remembered memory of Touya with green hair made her smile as she sat done in the chair next to her father desk.
Looking up from the notes he was reading, Fujitaka had a worried expression on his face.
"Sakura," He said. "I am going to postpone youir lessons today, as I need your assistance in one of my experiments. i could be dangerous, and I want your word that you will do exactly as I say. No more or less."
Sakura, who had begun to get worried at the look on her fathers face, immediately lit up like a thousand candle.
She loved helping her father with his experiments, even the ones that blew up in their faces.
They were even more fun that reading the ancient books that filled her fathers
study.
"Of course father, I would be glad to. What do you need me to do?"
Not answering her, Fujitaka reached into the open drawer of his desk and withdrew a small, cloth wrapped bundle.
Placing it on the desk in front of him, he lifted the cloth away.
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed. "Its so pretty."
Looking up for permission, Sakura reached small, gentle fingers out and
touched the gold design on the top.
"This is the sign of El-Arshon isnt it? The Sun Goddess?"
Nodding to his daughter, Fujitaka lifted the book out of the clothes wrapping and turned it over.
"And thats the sign of El-Washon, the Moon Goddess!"
Sakura looked up at her father in wonder. "But those are opposing forces, you cant bind a item to both of them, it would destroy you the first time you tried to invoke it."
"That is true," Fujitaka replied. "But apparently it has been done."
Placing the book face up again, Fujitaka explained the tests and attempts he had tried on the book so far, and what he had discovered about its defenses.
"So, since I myself have never wanted to master all of the Five House and I have been using magic for many years, I am unable to open it."
"But I, never having used magic, even to light a candle, should be able to."
Sakura said, finishing her fathers statement.
Nodding again, Fujitaka touched the book with a single finger tip.
"And thus lies my dilema. It was obviously made to protect an item of great importance to the creator. And I can only think of one person who could have made such an item."
Looking at Sakura through his spectacle, he raised his eyebrows with a expectent air.
Thinking furiously for a moment, Sakura pondered the answer.
"Clow," She cried.
"Correct. Only he had the power, and most importantly, the sheer ability to make something impossible like this."
"I can only think of three things precious enough to place in such a item."
He continued after a while.
"One I know was destroyed when Leed was, as I have part of it here in this study. One is currently in the temple of El-Arshon in the Holy City. That leaves only one item that would have been that precious, and dangerous, to guard like this."
"The cards!!" Sakura murmered in a frightened whisper.
"The cards," Fujitaka said in agreement. "The reason for the war. And what ended it as well."
"And know the question is asked. Do we dare open the book of the Clow?
Freeing the cards from their thousand year sleep, the cards which caused the end of the old age. Or do we let sleep on, unkown. And us, unknowing."
"If we dont open it," Sakura said. "We will be turing our backs on all the study of past that you have taught me. On all the dreams of discovering the secrets of that age."
"if we do open it, we could be bringing about the end of our own age in the same manner. In the war, cities were turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
Whole armies of Golems marched across the land. And fleets of warships which sailed the sky, fell to the earth in fire and death."
"I cannot make this choice for you Sakura," Fujitaka said. "Only you can open it, only you can decide."
Sakura stared at the book laying on her fathers desk, as if it had suddenly turned into a viper. Minutes passed, each tick-tock of the Kasandor Clock on the study wall making its presense known. Finally, Sakura stood up from her chair. "Never run from your fear. In doing so, you turn your back to it and give it the advantage. Only by standing up to it can you fight it, and in the end, defeat it."
Looking into her fathers eyes, Sakura saw the look of pride there, and she know she had made the right choice. One only she could make.
"What must I do father?" She asked, standing tall. Well as tall as she could, being how she was so short.
"Place your heart hand(This is the right hand for people who dont know mediveal lore)on the symbol of the sun and repeat after me."
"By this symbol..."
"By this symbol."
"And the power of its lady the sun...."
"And the power of its lady the sun."
"And her sister the moon."
"And her sister the moon."
"In their name and my own."
"In their name and my own."
"I..say your name..."
"I..say you na.....oops..sorry....I Sakura.."
"Command you to open."
"Command you to opem."
"Release!!!!!"
"Release!!!!!"
Light filled the room in an explosion of color.
Gold and red streamers, swirling higher and higher.
And surrounding it all, the sound of music.
Pipes, drums, strings, and faintly, in the background, one lone bagpipe, refusing to be silenced.
Her eyes spread wide, Sakura stared out over a vast expanse of space.
Stars, moons, winds of energy stretching off to unimaginable distances.
All of it there, as if for the taking.
And in the middle of it all, a small space of order stood a tall man.
Dark, yet handsome. Slender, yet strong.
He seemed to pull the powers that swirled around him into his very hands and form them by thought.
Light grew from his hands, and darknes. Good and evil in the same space.
Sakura knew she was watching the making of the greatest magical artifacts ever created, the Clow Cards.
Cards able to create life, and claim it. Build and destroy. And they had done both before the end. And all had ended.
As she watched, held suspended in time, Clow turned to her.
His eyes reached out and speared her own. And suddenly Sakura knew he was aware of her, and fear filled her.
"Look and learn my future daughter," A voice said softly in her mind.
"look upon the creation of life and wonder. And look upon the pride formed from that creation and learn. Learn the lesson I did not, until it was to late."
The image of Clow flowed quickly to her, or she to it, Sakura did not know.
Standing, towering above her, Clow leaned done and gently touched Sakura's
face. "Learn little one, learn the lesson I teach," Said the voice, filled with warmth, and strangley, love. "And free me from my own foolish curse."
Stroaking Sakura's hair, Clow began to sing.
Sakura was unable to make out the words, only that they were in the old, high tongue of Leed.
But images began to appear in her mind, images of many things, good and bad.
And just when she thought she would be able to see them clearly, all light vanished and she was falling, falling, falling......
End of Chapter One.
Yippee!!! I did it, I got it finished!!! Onward, onward, onward!!!!!!
Oh yes. This does not belong to me, only clamp.
Please r and r. And if you have any questions, suggestions or gripes, contact me at bellsboy@ix.netcom.com
Coming soon:
Chapter Two - A Journey Begins.
Another world...
In an age of wonder and magic,
were good and evil live in a desperate balance.
A thousand year ago the war happened,
the wizards of light and the sorcerers of dark fought for supremacy and for the power of the cards.
The cards of light and dark.
In the light, they can create.
And in the dark, destroy.
On the bidding of the master of the cards, all is done.
For good or for evil, as the bearer decides.
And so the war was fought, for good or for ill.
And the great age of magic did end,
in fire, destruction and madness.
And all things were cast down from their heights, vanquished.
The mysteries and the wisdoms, lost in the ruins.
A thousand years have passed, a thousand seasons.
The land heals its wounds, the flowers bloom and life continues.......
And the cards which were lost and forgotten.....
have been found.
In the hands of innocence....
a child shall decide the fate of all.
Ancient Treasures:
Chapter 1 - A new day awakens
Warm winds wash over the valley, with the sun rising high into the blue morning sky.
A young girl ,not yet aware of the destiny that awaits her, rises for the morning.............
Sitting up, Sakura looks around her small attic room.
Squinting at the sun in her eyes, she reaches for her slippers.
"Oh bother!" She mumbles, "I'm late!"
Quickly dressing, Sakura runs down stairs to the kitchen.
Stepping in to the large, sunfilled room, she greats the woman standing at the old stove, as she has for the past 11 years of her life.
"Good morning Nell," Sakura said, smiling. "Looks like I'm late again."
Turning around, the grey haired woman smiles in return.
"And when are ye not late my little miss, in the years I have been keep'n for yur' father, brother and ye?"
"Ascept on yur' b'rthday and tha new years, so ye cou'd open ye presents."
She adds, her smile turing into a grin. "Or ta play a prank on ye poor elder brother."
Blushing slightly, Sakura just grins and ducks her head.
"Is father up yet? He was working so very late last night. I was afraid he would spend more time in his study after dinner, instead of getting the sleep he needs."
"Dont ye be worri'in about yur' father now," Nell said, in her thick mountain brouge. "He was up at dawn and ta work soon after. And sleep he had, yes, which he went to after seeing ye to yur's."
Moving to the kitchens wide, old table, Nell pulled one of the big chairs out.
"Now sit yur self down and eat yur breakfast. You've yur studies to do with your da'. And," She said, looking the young girl up and down, from head to tinny toes peeking from through her worn slippers.
"We'll be go'in into the village later to buy ya some new dresses. Those you have are getting mighty short, what with the growing ye been do'in this last year. Yur Father mentioned yur dress's were gettin mighty short as well, and should'nt I a be doing something about it."
Turning away to dishup some of the food on the warmer plate of the stove, Nell missed the scowl that flashed across Sakuras face at the mention of new clothes.
"Why do I need new dresses," She grumped. "My overalls fit fine."
Placing the plate of food before her, Nell just snorted.
"But ye cant be wearin them overoolls all the time, dearie. Yur a girl, and thems mens clothes, and ye need some girls."
"Yur mother was a fine lady, Goddess rest 'er soul," She said. "And I'll not have ye growin up ta be a heathen. Now eat yur breakfast."
Huffing slightly, Sakura picked up her fork and dug in.
After breakfast was done and she had helped Nell clean up the breakfast dishes, Sakura dashed up the stairs to her fathers study on the second floor.
Nocking softly, Sakura waited till she heard her father voice to enter.
"It was never good to interupt a powerful mage in the middle of a spell,"
She thought to herself.
A half remembered memory of Touya with green hair made her smile as she sat done in the chair next to her father desk.
Looking up from the notes he was reading, Fujitaka had a worried expression on his face.
"Sakura," He said. "I am going to postpone youir lessons today, as I need your assistance in one of my experiments. i could be dangerous, and I want your word that you will do exactly as I say. No more or less."
Sakura, who had begun to get worried at the look on her fathers face, immediately lit up like a thousand candle.
She loved helping her father with his experiments, even the ones that blew up in their faces.
They were even more fun that reading the ancient books that filled her fathers
study.
"Of course father, I would be glad to. What do you need me to do?"
Not answering her, Fujitaka reached into the open drawer of his desk and withdrew a small, cloth wrapped bundle.
Placing it on the desk in front of him, he lifted the cloth away.
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed. "Its so pretty."
Looking up for permission, Sakura reached small, gentle fingers out and
touched the gold design on the top.
"This is the sign of El-Arshon isnt it? The Sun Goddess?"
Nodding to his daughter, Fujitaka lifted the book out of the clothes wrapping and turned it over.
"And thats the sign of El-Washon, the Moon Goddess!"
Sakura looked up at her father in wonder. "But those are opposing forces, you cant bind a item to both of them, it would destroy you the first time you tried to invoke it."
"That is true," Fujitaka replied. "But apparently it has been done."
Placing the book face up again, Fujitaka explained the tests and attempts he had tried on the book so far, and what he had discovered about its defenses.
"So, since I myself have never wanted to master all of the Five House and I have been using magic for many years, I am unable to open it."
"But I, never having used magic, even to light a candle, should be able to."
Sakura said, finishing her fathers statement.
Nodding again, Fujitaka touched the book with a single finger tip.
"And thus lies my dilema. It was obviously made to protect an item of great importance to the creator. And I can only think of one person who could have made such an item."
Looking at Sakura through his spectacle, he raised his eyebrows with a expectent air.
Thinking furiously for a moment, Sakura pondered the answer.
"Clow," She cried.
"Correct. Only he had the power, and most importantly, the sheer ability to make something impossible like this."
"I can only think of three things precious enough to place in such a item."
He continued after a while.
"One I know was destroyed when Leed was, as I have part of it here in this study. One is currently in the temple of El-Arshon in the Holy City. That leaves only one item that would have been that precious, and dangerous, to guard like this."
"The cards!!" Sakura murmered in a frightened whisper.
"The cards," Fujitaka said in agreement. "The reason for the war. And what ended it as well."
"And know the question is asked. Do we dare open the book of the Clow?
Freeing the cards from their thousand year sleep, the cards which caused the end of the old age. Or do we let sleep on, unkown. And us, unknowing."
"If we dont open it," Sakura said. "We will be turing our backs on all the study of past that you have taught me. On all the dreams of discovering the secrets of that age."
"if we do open it, we could be bringing about the end of our own age in the same manner. In the war, cities were turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
Whole armies of Golems marched across the land. And fleets of warships which sailed the sky, fell to the earth in fire and death."
"I cannot make this choice for you Sakura," Fujitaka said. "Only you can open it, only you can decide."
Sakura stared at the book laying on her fathers desk, as if it had suddenly turned into a viper. Minutes passed, each tick-tock of the Kasandor Clock on the study wall making its presense known. Finally, Sakura stood up from her chair. "Never run from your fear. In doing so, you turn your back to it and give it the advantage. Only by standing up to it can you fight it, and in the end, defeat it."
Looking into her fathers eyes, Sakura saw the look of pride there, and she know she had made the right choice. One only she could make.
"What must I do father?" She asked, standing tall. Well as tall as she could, being how she was so short.
"Place your heart hand(This is the right hand for people who dont know mediveal lore)on the symbol of the sun and repeat after me."
"By this symbol..."
"By this symbol."
"And the power of its lady the sun...."
"And the power of its lady the sun."
"And her sister the moon."
"And her sister the moon."
"In their name and my own."
"In their name and my own."
"I..say your name..."
"I..say you na.....oops..sorry....I Sakura.."
"Command you to open."
"Command you to opem."
"Release!!!!!"
"Release!!!!!"
Light filled the room in an explosion of color.
Gold and red streamers, swirling higher and higher.
And surrounding it all, the sound of music.
Pipes, drums, strings, and faintly, in the background, one lone bagpipe, refusing to be silenced.
Her eyes spread wide, Sakura stared out over a vast expanse of space.
Stars, moons, winds of energy stretching off to unimaginable distances.
All of it there, as if for the taking.
And in the middle of it all, a small space of order stood a tall man.
Dark, yet handsome. Slender, yet strong.
He seemed to pull the powers that swirled around him into his very hands and form them by thought.
Light grew from his hands, and darknes. Good and evil in the same space.
Sakura knew she was watching the making of the greatest magical artifacts ever created, the Clow Cards.
Cards able to create life, and claim it. Build and destroy. And they had done both before the end. And all had ended.
As she watched, held suspended in time, Clow turned to her.
His eyes reached out and speared her own. And suddenly Sakura knew he was aware of her, and fear filled her.
"Look and learn my future daughter," A voice said softly in her mind.
"look upon the creation of life and wonder. And look upon the pride formed from that creation and learn. Learn the lesson I did not, until it was to late."
The image of Clow flowed quickly to her, or she to it, Sakura did not know.
Standing, towering above her, Clow leaned done and gently touched Sakura's
face. "Learn little one, learn the lesson I teach," Said the voice, filled with warmth, and strangley, love. "And free me from my own foolish curse."
Stroaking Sakura's hair, Clow began to sing.
Sakura was unable to make out the words, only that they were in the old, high tongue of Leed.
But images began to appear in her mind, images of many things, good and bad.
And just when she thought she would be able to see them clearly, all light vanished and she was falling, falling, falling......
End of Chapter One.
Yippee!!! I did it, I got it finished!!! Onward, onward, onward!!!!!!
Oh yes. This does not belong to me, only clamp.
Please r and r. And if you have any questions, suggestions or gripes, contact me at bellsboy@ix.netcom.com
Coming soon:
Chapter Two - A Journey Begins.