Disclaimer: I do not own the work of absolute brilliance that is Spirited Away. I wish I was that creative...

Elemental Spirit

Chapter One - Ashika's Demise

Rakasha's Sparks

517 years ago-

The last rays of the sun retreated behind the horizon. As the light slowly diminished, leaving the world in a blanket of dark, the horrors of the battlefield slipped from vision. The bodies of countless beings, spirits, humans and others, lay in decaying heaps, their blood slowly dripping down and forming small rivers of death along the ground. Everything was stained by death. Many of the ghosts of those who had died had yet to depart the field, so their pain and terror remained. Many of those ghosts would never leave. Such is the way of such slaughters.

Thirteen cloaked beings stood at the edge of the field, staring out at the endless sea of bodies. They had spent the last hours of daylight since the end of the battle not giving proper burial to those who had died, but searching for the being who had been blamed for all this. She was said to be a cruel Elemental, with more power than all the mages in all the worlds combined. She had been the reason for the incredible loss of life this day.

"Is the sorceress, dead?" the one in front asked. None of the beings could be distinguished by merely looking at them - the cloaks prevented that - but the being that spoke seemed to be the man in charge. Not only did its deep voice ring with power and authority, but its cloak was of a much finer quality and it held itself with a highly commanding presence.

"Yes, milord." A feminine voice immediately to his right answered. "I found Ashika's body and burned it, so that her soul cannot find a new form." The woman's voice was a low alto and slid across the man's ears like silk. She did not turn when she addressed him, but he trusted her report. She had been loyal to his family for thousands of years, long before he was born.

He smiled. "Good. Next time I won't let the suspicion fall the way it did. Next time I will succeed. This took far too long and was far too messy." He turned and walked away from the field. Tomorrow those who survived and escaped would take care of the bodies, nothing someone of his importance should worry about. He vanished into the night along with eleven of those who were with him. The women who spoke earlier, however, remained.

She turned to her horse that was hidden in the trees and whistled lightly. The sturdy draft horse trotted over to her and she mounted him. The horse and rider took off away from the wreckage toward the small stand of trees that hid two small forms and a grave. Once she arrived, she whistled twice, the signal that she told the two children to listen for. They stepped out of the trees and looked at her. One was a small boy, perhaps three years old, with vivid green eyes and fine black hair. The other was a girl who appeared to be only 13, though in reality she was nearing half a century, with pale lilac hair and black eyes.

The woman smiled at the two children. Never before had she seen such bravery in two so young, young being a relative term. She kneeled before them, handing each a small bag.

"You both did very well, I'm proud of you. Keep these bags safe until Ashika is reborn. You will not recognize her, but will know who to give these to. Until she comes to reclaim them, do not give them to anyone else. Do you both understand?" Both children nodded.

"What if she doesn't come back?" The boy asked in a very small voice.

"She will Kohaku! She has to! She promised us, remember?" The young girl answered immediately. She paused a moment then looked to the woman. "She will, won't she, Mukido?" She asked, a bit less certain that she was last time.

"Kirei is correct, Kohaku. Ashika will return. When she does, I will train her to use her powers and our world will be free again. Never loose faith in that." Both children nodded. Kirei took Kohaku's small hand in hers and they both disappeared. Mukido remounted her horse and rode away from the trees that held Ashika's unmarked grave to wait for the day when she would be needed to help Ashika once again.

Author's Corner:

Update: 2/25/05- Had to reload this chapter… I found several grammatical errors that were going to drive me absolutely insane.

I hope you all enjoy this. I'm really fond of it. I especially grew attached to my characters. Particularly Mukido. shrugs Oh well... Comments, questions, constructive criticism and other welcome! Flames will be sent to the Hall of Shame.

Kasha

Note: I'm currently looking for a beta reader. Preferably willing to look through all fandoms, including original work, but right now I'm focusing in on Spirited Away. If you're interested leave a comment or check out my profile for more information.

Shout Outs as of 2/25/05:

Alaina Isake The Kira'Sha'Tect – I'm glad you like it! I'll get back to you on the beta thing… I'll try and send off an e-mail later this afternoon. Thank you!

crazianimegirl: Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback on language! I'll be posting the next chapter hopefully sometime next week.