Ice Jayden: I do not own CCS in any way, shape, or form. Although I am very glad that CLAMP created such an intriguing story. I just like to play with their characters, and in this story put them in a completely different universe.
I give my thanks to all those who were courteous enough to review the last chapter.
Ranya: It continues... NOW.
Serenia-sd: I be very glad you like.
Ashi-Chan: Now there's more...
Me-101: You SMILED!!! I jump around and do a funky jig (or pretend to)
Time Warp: Interesting... hmmm, I like that.
Smiles: I want them to communicate too, so hard to write that though, but it happens before this Chapter ends. I like smiles!
Cast In Stone
By Ice Jayden
For Interaction
It didn't take long for them to change his bandages. They retied his hands behind his back and then folded the wings and tied them to his sides once again. His back felt slightly better after the wings had stretched, but it still hurt immensely.
Syaoran then watched as they packed up the camp, careful not to leave any trace of their presence behind. Syaoran was forced to ride like a sack of potatoes strapped to the back of the horse once again with his obnoxious wings tied to his back. It was embarrassing and irritating to ride in such a strange position even if he was a prisoner.
They carefully traveled half the day within the cover of the forest. Syaoran wasn't sure what they were hiding from, but from their actions he knew that they were afraid of discovery. A blue haired, bi-spectacled young sorcerer, the same one who had forced medicine down his throat, covered up their tracks using simple spells that were extremely difficult to trace within a few minutes of being cast.
The new camp was set up in utter silence. Only the small ticks of tent pieces knocking into each other and the ruffling of cloth could be heard. After two hours they had finished setting up camp and Syaoran was removed from the horse's back.
He then was tossed unceremoniously to the ground where he lay face first in the dirt. His back was on fire again and he was feeling very irate. He grit his teeth against the pain and began to try to figure out what had happened that had landed him in his current predicament.
Before he could really try to solve his little mystery the young girl, Kinomoto, came up to him and began to talk. She would point to different things in the surrounding area and say something. He figured she was trying to teach him her language. She then pointed to him and waited for a response. Once again all she received for her efforts was a killer glare.
Seemingly exasperated, she walked away. Syaoran had paid attention to her little lesson though and was starting to understand some of what they were saying. He figured they must being speaking a slightly different version of Japanese than what he had learned. Some of the words were similar but not enough for him to understand it immediately.
He then tried to catch tidbits of what is captors were saying. "We ... down the ... finds us ... before ... kills us ... long ... does ... that!" "... we ... sorcerers ... us ..." "Sakura ... most powerful sorceress ... cards!" "... magic ..." "... the more powerful ... Clow Reed."
At the mention of Clow Reed, one of Syaoran's greatest ancestors, he found himself trying harder to understand what they were saying.
"But Clow Reed ... the beginning ... Magical Renaissance Era, an era that ... extinguished and only ... have any ... remaining knowledge from that era!"
He continued to listen and was slowly finding himself able to pick up more and more of the conversation.
After another unsuccessful attempt at learning the young man's name she returned to where everyone had gathered. They were talking about all the problems of the Empire. Eriol was talking about their strangle hold on any magical knowledge and how they destroy any Sorcerers not under their control. "... wanted just for being born with magic. Those that don't join the Empire are killed and those that do are taught only the common spells and then hunt down those who are still free. It's getting harder and harder to remain hidden."
"We need to bring down the Empire before he finds us and kills us. It wont be long before he does just that!"
"How, we are a few dozen total, he has more sorcerers than us and troops to spare!!!"
"Sakura has the potential to be the most powerful sorceress ever with her cards!"
"But she can't use magic right now!"
"So have Eriol remove the magic restraining cuff, he's more powerful than the Emperor himself. He is, after all, the half reincarnation of Clow Reed."
"But Clow Reed was at the beginning of the Magical Renaissance Era, an era that the Empire extinguished and only the most loyal Imperials have any of the remaining knowledge from that era!"
"Hmm, I am unfamiliar with the cuff restraints and I have no memories from Clow on how to remove them but I can try a few spells and hope that something works."
Eriol then got up and moved to where Sakura was sitting. She looked up at him and gave him an encouraging smile. She was tired of having her magic restrained; being nothing more than a burden on those she loved. She was supposed to be all-powerful, but she could do nothing right now.
Eriol began chanting and trying various spells that are meant to unlock locks to those that are supposed to render spells on objects obsolete. After he had gone through a myriad of spells unsuccessfully he gave Sakura an apologetic look and then stated to all those present that he could not remove the cuff from her wrist.
It was like a heavy weight had descended upon Sakura's heart at learning that the Emperor's threat that only he could remove the cuff was true.
Syaoran was now able to put a few clues together in solving why he is stuck as a prisoner to these people. It was obvious to him that Sakura is not a prisoner, in fact they probably somehow changed him back from his stone state when they 'rescued' Sakura from whomever it was that had put the cuff on her and him, most likely in his statue form, in the first place.
He also now knew that Sakura is the Card Mistress, he hoped that she had converted the Clow Cards to be her own already. His mother was always saying that only the master of the Clow Cards could destroy the Empire that had formed, and that the master would not be born for many generations yet. He had taken the Clow Book to Japan to be kept safe by their royal family until the one destined to master them arrived. That was a few months before his mother had died and a little over three months before China had collapsed. It was slightly mind boggling that he was at least 'many generations' from the time he had originally been born.
He couldn't be completely sure of anything but it seemed to sort of make sense to chain a prisoner to a statue, which is what he must have been at the time. It was also obvious that the people who were opposing, he guessed, the Empire did not know very much magic, especially if the blue haired boy is supposed to be extremely skilled as the end of the conversation seemed to be hinting at.
He spent an awful long time trying to remove the cuff and obviously didn't realize that it requires a specific counter spell to be removed by another or a special spell that the Li's were taught so that they couldn't be caught by their own tricks. He just couldn't remove his own cuff at the time, at least not without it being in contact with the other one.
He then noticed that the dark haired, magically untrained guy was fiddling with something small on a red ribbon. Something he immediately recognized as his sword in its false form. Anger consumed him as he glared death straight at the man who dared to play with his sword.
He watched as the dark haired guy handed his sword to the blue haired sorcerer. He seethed as the sorcerer attempted to change transform it into a sword. He felt a bit of pride when the sorcerer conceded defeat. Only Syaoran could use that sword, it was magically tuned to him. He had made it to show that he had graduated to a full fledge sorcerer.
They were talking now, but they were too far away for him to hear what they were saying. While he had finally managed to understand what his captors were saying for the most part, he was unsure of whether or not he would actually be able to speak their Japanese well enough for them to understand him.
The Card Mistress, Kinomoto, was at his side again with some food and water. She would tear a piece of bread off the slice and try to shove it into his mouth. He promptly avoided the bread, this was more humiliating than being strapped to the back of the horse. Besides, he didn't know her, he only knew that she is the Card Mistress, or at least according to what he'd overheard she is supposed to be the Card Mistress.
He didn't really want to believe this girl was so powerful, but even worse was the fact that he was in a very different time than when he was raised. He didn't know how customs may have changed over the years and his mother had hinted towards millennia before the Card Master's time. He didn't like having been around for such a long time to see both the rise and the fall of the Empire.
He heard her sigh in exasperation and called out, "Eriol, I need your help again. He is so stubborn!" Well, now was as good as anytime to attempt to break the language barriers and hopefully be able to eventually prove himself trustworthy.
"Why should I trust you?" Syaoran asked the question in a monotonous voice. He watched as Kinomoto's eyes widened in surprise and a "hoe" passed through her lips. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement.
As she was finally overcoming her shock, Eriol arrived to help Sakura force feed him. It was then that Syaoran was able to put a name to the blue haired sorcerer. "Eriol, he can speak Japanese!" she stated enthusiastically.
Eriol raised one eyebrow and smiled knowingly at Syaoran. He glared in response. He didn't know why but he really wanted to wipe that smug look right off of Eriol's face. That smile was unnerving and irritated Syaoran.
"Well, so after almost an entire day you have decided to talk."
"I had to listen and learn first, Japanese is not the same as when I first learnt it."
"Yet you can speak proficiently enough, must be a fast learner. So, who are you?"
"Why should I tell you who I am? I am at a disadvantage here. I do not know even know when we are much the less know if you are a trustworthy person. And I am the one with his arms stuck behind his back."
Syaoran was feeling extremely frustrated. Their conversation was going no where, and he just wasn't a very trusting person to begin with. He didn't really want to give his name out to complete strangers, especially since he has no idea of how the Li Clan is portrayed in their history books. At least he was pretty sure that the entire Clan is history, except him.
His entire Clan was secretive, which was a large factor in their downfall. They did not form many alliances and they did not share their knowledge with the rest of the world. It led them to be a main target for the forming Empire, with the vast amounts of powerful secrets that the Li's had kept from the world. In some senses, the Li's refusal to share their knowledge with others and then their defeat by the Imperials led to a more powerful Empire who now holds scraps of those powerful secrets.
On the other hand, if the Li's had shared the knowledge, it is possible that the Imperials would have been able to take over the entire world quickly with their vast numbers of less powerful sorcerers who would then have had more knowledge and abilities to overthrow the more powerful and less numerous sorcerers of his time. The entire world would likely be enslaved to the Empire if the Li's knowledge had been common among sorcerers.
"I suppose you are right. It has been a millennium since the formation of the Empire. Does that tell you how long you were stuck in stone?" He smiled nonchalantly once again as though they were discussing the weather.
"Yes." A millennium stuck in stone. A lot can happen in a millennium.
"Well, are you going to share, we are a bit curious as to when you are from."
"Why are you concerned about when I am originally from? I know of when the Empire was formed and I shall leave it at that unless you can give me a really good reason to tell you."
"You are a bit of a mystery. Your clothes hint towards the Chinese Kingdom, which was the first to be destroyed by the Empire. You were stone for, until you tell us, an unknown but likely a very long time. You carried a magic sword from what I've heard, which until your appearance were a thing of myths. And you are, as you hinted at, our prisoner unless we deem you trustworthy to release. It is up to you to earn that trust."
A fowl taste seemed to enter his mouth as he prepared to give some personal information. It was hard for him to give out anything to this cocky stranger, but he did need his trust. That didn't mean he had to tell them exactly who he is though.
"I saw the Chinese Kingdom fall from the frontlines." That statement placed him but it did not reveal what side he was on. He was fairly certain that his captors opposed the Empire, but he didn't want to take any chances that a spy might be among them. If he said that he was there and opposing the Empire, they would gain more information than he felt like giving out at this point. Let them guess, he thought.
Wow, another chapter finally up. It was hard and fun to write all at the same time. So what do you think? Please leave a REVIEW!!! I love Smiles : ) Thankz lotz.
I give my thanks to all those who were courteous enough to review the last chapter.
Ranya: It continues... NOW.
Serenia-sd: I be very glad you like.
Ashi-Chan: Now there's more...
Me-101: You SMILED!!! I jump around and do a funky jig (or pretend to)
Time Warp: Interesting... hmmm, I like that.
Smiles: I want them to communicate too, so hard to write that though, but it happens before this Chapter ends. I like smiles!
Cast In Stone
By Ice Jayden
For Interaction
It didn't take long for them to change his bandages. They retied his hands behind his back and then folded the wings and tied them to his sides once again. His back felt slightly better after the wings had stretched, but it still hurt immensely.
Syaoran then watched as they packed up the camp, careful not to leave any trace of their presence behind. Syaoran was forced to ride like a sack of potatoes strapped to the back of the horse once again with his obnoxious wings tied to his back. It was embarrassing and irritating to ride in such a strange position even if he was a prisoner.
They carefully traveled half the day within the cover of the forest. Syaoran wasn't sure what they were hiding from, but from their actions he knew that they were afraid of discovery. A blue haired, bi-spectacled young sorcerer, the same one who had forced medicine down his throat, covered up their tracks using simple spells that were extremely difficult to trace within a few minutes of being cast.
The new camp was set up in utter silence. Only the small ticks of tent pieces knocking into each other and the ruffling of cloth could be heard. After two hours they had finished setting up camp and Syaoran was removed from the horse's back.
He then was tossed unceremoniously to the ground where he lay face first in the dirt. His back was on fire again and he was feeling very irate. He grit his teeth against the pain and began to try to figure out what had happened that had landed him in his current predicament.
Before he could really try to solve his little mystery the young girl, Kinomoto, came up to him and began to talk. She would point to different things in the surrounding area and say something. He figured she was trying to teach him her language. She then pointed to him and waited for a response. Once again all she received for her efforts was a killer glare.
Seemingly exasperated, she walked away. Syaoran had paid attention to her little lesson though and was starting to understand some of what they were saying. He figured they must being speaking a slightly different version of Japanese than what he had learned. Some of the words were similar but not enough for him to understand it immediately.
He then tried to catch tidbits of what is captors were saying. "We ... down the ... finds us ... before ... kills us ... long ... does ... that!" "... we ... sorcerers ... us ..." "Sakura ... most powerful sorceress ... cards!" "... magic ..." "... the more powerful ... Clow Reed."
At the mention of Clow Reed, one of Syaoran's greatest ancestors, he found himself trying harder to understand what they were saying.
"But Clow Reed ... the beginning ... Magical Renaissance Era, an era that ... extinguished and only ... have any ... remaining knowledge from that era!"
He continued to listen and was slowly finding himself able to pick up more and more of the conversation.
After another unsuccessful attempt at learning the young man's name she returned to where everyone had gathered. They were talking about all the problems of the Empire. Eriol was talking about their strangle hold on any magical knowledge and how they destroy any Sorcerers not under their control. "... wanted just for being born with magic. Those that don't join the Empire are killed and those that do are taught only the common spells and then hunt down those who are still free. It's getting harder and harder to remain hidden."
"We need to bring down the Empire before he finds us and kills us. It wont be long before he does just that!"
"How, we are a few dozen total, he has more sorcerers than us and troops to spare!!!"
"Sakura has the potential to be the most powerful sorceress ever with her cards!"
"But she can't use magic right now!"
"So have Eriol remove the magic restraining cuff, he's more powerful than the Emperor himself. He is, after all, the half reincarnation of Clow Reed."
"But Clow Reed was at the beginning of the Magical Renaissance Era, an era that the Empire extinguished and only the most loyal Imperials have any of the remaining knowledge from that era!"
"Hmm, I am unfamiliar with the cuff restraints and I have no memories from Clow on how to remove them but I can try a few spells and hope that something works."
Eriol then got up and moved to where Sakura was sitting. She looked up at him and gave him an encouraging smile. She was tired of having her magic restrained; being nothing more than a burden on those she loved. She was supposed to be all-powerful, but she could do nothing right now.
Eriol began chanting and trying various spells that are meant to unlock locks to those that are supposed to render spells on objects obsolete. After he had gone through a myriad of spells unsuccessfully he gave Sakura an apologetic look and then stated to all those present that he could not remove the cuff from her wrist.
It was like a heavy weight had descended upon Sakura's heart at learning that the Emperor's threat that only he could remove the cuff was true.
Syaoran was now able to put a few clues together in solving why he is stuck as a prisoner to these people. It was obvious to him that Sakura is not a prisoner, in fact they probably somehow changed him back from his stone state when they 'rescued' Sakura from whomever it was that had put the cuff on her and him, most likely in his statue form, in the first place.
He also now knew that Sakura is the Card Mistress, he hoped that she had converted the Clow Cards to be her own already. His mother was always saying that only the master of the Clow Cards could destroy the Empire that had formed, and that the master would not be born for many generations yet. He had taken the Clow Book to Japan to be kept safe by their royal family until the one destined to master them arrived. That was a few months before his mother had died and a little over three months before China had collapsed. It was slightly mind boggling that he was at least 'many generations' from the time he had originally been born.
He couldn't be completely sure of anything but it seemed to sort of make sense to chain a prisoner to a statue, which is what he must have been at the time. It was also obvious that the people who were opposing, he guessed, the Empire did not know very much magic, especially if the blue haired boy is supposed to be extremely skilled as the end of the conversation seemed to be hinting at.
He spent an awful long time trying to remove the cuff and obviously didn't realize that it requires a specific counter spell to be removed by another or a special spell that the Li's were taught so that they couldn't be caught by their own tricks. He just couldn't remove his own cuff at the time, at least not without it being in contact with the other one.
He then noticed that the dark haired, magically untrained guy was fiddling with something small on a red ribbon. Something he immediately recognized as his sword in its false form. Anger consumed him as he glared death straight at the man who dared to play with his sword.
He watched as the dark haired guy handed his sword to the blue haired sorcerer. He seethed as the sorcerer attempted to change transform it into a sword. He felt a bit of pride when the sorcerer conceded defeat. Only Syaoran could use that sword, it was magically tuned to him. He had made it to show that he had graduated to a full fledge sorcerer.
They were talking now, but they were too far away for him to hear what they were saying. While he had finally managed to understand what his captors were saying for the most part, he was unsure of whether or not he would actually be able to speak their Japanese well enough for them to understand him.
The Card Mistress, Kinomoto, was at his side again with some food and water. She would tear a piece of bread off the slice and try to shove it into his mouth. He promptly avoided the bread, this was more humiliating than being strapped to the back of the horse. Besides, he didn't know her, he only knew that she is the Card Mistress, or at least according to what he'd overheard she is supposed to be the Card Mistress.
He didn't really want to believe this girl was so powerful, but even worse was the fact that he was in a very different time than when he was raised. He didn't know how customs may have changed over the years and his mother had hinted towards millennia before the Card Master's time. He didn't like having been around for such a long time to see both the rise and the fall of the Empire.
He heard her sigh in exasperation and called out, "Eriol, I need your help again. He is so stubborn!" Well, now was as good as anytime to attempt to break the language barriers and hopefully be able to eventually prove himself trustworthy.
"Why should I trust you?" Syaoran asked the question in a monotonous voice. He watched as Kinomoto's eyes widened in surprise and a "hoe" passed through her lips. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement.
As she was finally overcoming her shock, Eriol arrived to help Sakura force feed him. It was then that Syaoran was able to put a name to the blue haired sorcerer. "Eriol, he can speak Japanese!" she stated enthusiastically.
Eriol raised one eyebrow and smiled knowingly at Syaoran. He glared in response. He didn't know why but he really wanted to wipe that smug look right off of Eriol's face. That smile was unnerving and irritated Syaoran.
"Well, so after almost an entire day you have decided to talk."
"I had to listen and learn first, Japanese is not the same as when I first learnt it."
"Yet you can speak proficiently enough, must be a fast learner. So, who are you?"
"Why should I tell you who I am? I am at a disadvantage here. I do not know even know when we are much the less know if you are a trustworthy person. And I am the one with his arms stuck behind his back."
Syaoran was feeling extremely frustrated. Their conversation was going no where, and he just wasn't a very trusting person to begin with. He didn't really want to give his name out to complete strangers, especially since he has no idea of how the Li Clan is portrayed in their history books. At least he was pretty sure that the entire Clan is history, except him.
His entire Clan was secretive, which was a large factor in their downfall. They did not form many alliances and they did not share their knowledge with the rest of the world. It led them to be a main target for the forming Empire, with the vast amounts of powerful secrets that the Li's had kept from the world. In some senses, the Li's refusal to share their knowledge with others and then their defeat by the Imperials led to a more powerful Empire who now holds scraps of those powerful secrets.
On the other hand, if the Li's had shared the knowledge, it is possible that the Imperials would have been able to take over the entire world quickly with their vast numbers of less powerful sorcerers who would then have had more knowledge and abilities to overthrow the more powerful and less numerous sorcerers of his time. The entire world would likely be enslaved to the Empire if the Li's knowledge had been common among sorcerers.
"I suppose you are right. It has been a millennium since the formation of the Empire. Does that tell you how long you were stuck in stone?" He smiled nonchalantly once again as though they were discussing the weather.
"Yes." A millennium stuck in stone. A lot can happen in a millennium.
"Well, are you going to share, we are a bit curious as to when you are from."
"Why are you concerned about when I am originally from? I know of when the Empire was formed and I shall leave it at that unless you can give me a really good reason to tell you."
"You are a bit of a mystery. Your clothes hint towards the Chinese Kingdom, which was the first to be destroyed by the Empire. You were stone for, until you tell us, an unknown but likely a very long time. You carried a magic sword from what I've heard, which until your appearance were a thing of myths. And you are, as you hinted at, our prisoner unless we deem you trustworthy to release. It is up to you to earn that trust."
A fowl taste seemed to enter his mouth as he prepared to give some personal information. It was hard for him to give out anything to this cocky stranger, but he did need his trust. That didn't mean he had to tell them exactly who he is though.
"I saw the Chinese Kingdom fall from the frontlines." That statement placed him but it did not reveal what side he was on. He was fairly certain that his captors opposed the Empire, but he didn't want to take any chances that a spy might be among them. If he said that he was there and opposing the Empire, they would gain more information than he felt like giving out at this point. Let them guess, he thought.
Wow, another chapter finally up. It was hard and fun to write all at the same time. So what do you think? Please leave a REVIEW!!! I love Smiles : ) Thankz lotz.
