Into Pahór

a.d.r.i.l.e.y.

There was once a road through the woods

Before they planted the trees.

It is underneath the coppice and heath,

And the thin anemones.

Only the keeper sees

That, where the ring-dove broods,

And the badgers roll at ease,

There was once a road through the woods.

-The Way Through the Woods, Rudyard Kipling

Chapter One.

The House was made of old wood; and by the smell of it, the boy could tell that the wood was of the Ancient Trees, which had existed before time was wrought. How the old man had built the house, the boy had no clue. Instead, he contented himself with sitting by the fireplace, while the First Elder summoned the other children.

The First day of the March of Eve was arriving, and a great festival was to be held in the small town of Ajima, in the mountains. Travellers who seldom braved the landslides, forests and precipices were coming in by the dozens, and Master Tao's inn's seven and forty rooms were packed, leaving the other foreigners to depend on the locals for board and lodging.

The boy gazed into the leaping flames of the fire, as he heard the gentle patter of the First Elder's footsteps, along with the loud, clicking running of the other children. Soon, the tall black chair by the hearth was filled with an old, dark man, whose wrinkles told of age, and whose dark eyes twinkled with starlight.

Shapes and noises began to surround the boy, as the children sat down. He heard their laughing and whispering subside, when the First Elder put a bony finger to his lips, and smiled, showing his betel nut-stained teeth.

The boy looked at the man as well, and noticed that the room grew a little warmer. Everything was hushed now, as the children watched the man take a blue cloth pouch from his robe, and open it.

"Children," he croaked, smiling, "I have a tale for you this day." The First Elder reached into the pouch, and the boy craned his neck to see what was inside. His view, however, was blocked by Master Tao's son, Ren.

The Elder took his hand out of the pouch, fisted. The children's eager eyes were now on the brown hand. The old man smiled again, and thrust his fist into the fire.

The boy watched in awe, as the licking flames failed to burn the old man's hand. He had a suspicion that it was too old to be burnt, or made of Ancient wood, as some have said.

He let his hand open, and instantly, the fire turned a fierce emerald colour. Gasps were heard from the cloud of children, but the deacons, garbed in black, just smiled to themselves, for the tricks of the First Elder were well-known within the council.

"Today," the Elder said, "I will tell of the brave warrior, Amidamaru, and his quest to look for the Elixir of Immortality."

With his words, the fire's green tinge diminished to a fierce red, as the boy gazed at the dark silhouettes that took shape before his eyes. A man on a horse, and his big sword at the side. Goblins were attacking a village, and he was going to save them…

"They say that he was only a legend, but some people believe otherwise…" said the First Elder, who glanced at the boy, with a meaningful look. He was absorbed in the fire, dark eyes widening.

The old man continued with his story, and the children listened, paying rapt attention to the Elder. But words were gone to the boy, looking into the fire. It was as if he was in another world.

One of the deacons noticed this. Her eyes flickered to the boy, who was not paying the First Elder any attention. Engrossed by the dancing flames, he looked at nothing but the fire, which was by now, turning a deep violet. Jun Tao sighed, and remembered, how she too had seen the moving silhouettes, and how the others had not.

But it was only a memory; a lost chapter in her childhood. Now, Jun was training to become one of the future leaders of Ajima, under the Third and Fourth Elders.

"And so, our great warrior wedded the beautiful princess Shina of the kingdom of Solbedur, and they lived happily into the next life, at their home, in the islands of the south ocean."

The Elder had finished the story, and the children were gone, running out to tell their parents and friends of the legend of Amidamaru, the warrior. The story-room was empty and quiet, except for the fire, the First Elder, and the boy.

The deacons were now shuffling out in a quiet manner, and Jun with them. The last remnants of her gaze fell upon the boy, still entranced by the flames, and the old man, who was now looking intently at the child.

The fire had now faded to its normal colour, and the trance was broken. The boy looked up to see that the story was over, and was sorry that it was, since he had enjoyed seeing the mighty warrior's great adventures in the swirling flames of the hearth.

He met the Elder's gaze, and immediately stood up and bowed, preparing to leave. But the old man shook his head and motioned for the boy to sit down. He obeyed.

After a few moments of silence, the First Elder asked the boy a question.

"Were you not listening to my story?"

The boy blinked, realized that he in fact, had not, and felt guilty for it. He shook his head slowly, staring at the wooden floor.

The Elder nodded.

"Tell me. How did Amidamaru defeat the dragon-lord of Briu?"

The boy looked up. "He used a single feather from under the right wing of a red pheasant." The words were out of his mouth before he knew it, and the First Elder was impressed.

"How did you know?" he hid the awe in his voice.

"The fire told me."

This answer seemed to surprise the Elder, because his face was lined more than usual, in deep thought.

"Fire?"

The boy nodded vehemently. "I saw the black shapes—of Amidamaru, and the dragon-lord, and the other—"

"Shapes." The old man cut him off. The boy nodded, even though it was not a question.

A pause, and then,

"What is your name, boy?"

"Asakura Yoh, sir." The child intoned a voice of respect.

"Hmmmm…Your father is the woodcutter?"

Nod.

"I see." The First Elder smiled, a little bit wider than before. "You have my permission to leave, Asakura Yoh." He said, with a sweeping motion of his hand.

Yoh bowed, his white tunic slipping a bit. The boy hastily fixed it, before leaving the story-room.

………………………….

The town of Ajima is sometimes called the Middle House, because of its location, in the mountains. It is bordered on three sides: by mountains, by the cliffs leading to the ocean, and by the sky.

There are only two ways to enter Ajima: one is by the mountain route, and the other is through coming from the Realm of the Endless. The fourth side of Ajima, you see, is bordered by a wall. Beyond that wall is a vast expanse of endless grass; the largest meadow that anyone had ever seen.

No one enters the passageway to go beyond the wall; it is said that the land there is evil, and that it continues for miles and miles until you fall of the end of the earth. Most of the townsfolk ignore it, and the wall is a subject that people here in Ajima would usually prefer to avoid.

………………………………………….

But once every seven years, a curious thing happens beyond the wall. For on The March of Eve which lasts for five days, a forest appears, about half a mile from the borders of Ajima. That is where the creatures of evil come from, according to the Elders.

But the Elders are not always correct, for people who are isolated in one place for a very long time have the tendency to fear things that they do not know of.

……………………………………………..

Master Tao was relieved of duty by his eldest daughter, Jun. Coming back from the story house, the woman took her black deacon's robe off, revealing a simple brown dress.

"Thank Kami." Breathed her father, a little bit too impatiently.

"You go and serve the newcomers, girl, while I go and see what that good-for-nothing cook Bason is up to."

Jun nodded, and walked over to a table of noisy men, whose dark complexions deemed them to be from the far-off kingdom of India.

A timid smile on her face, the woman asked for their choice of drink.

"Two more beers for Ahmed here, dearie." Said the largest man, whose potbelly made him look pregnant.

Jun nodded.

"Anything else, sirs?"

The four men shook their head. The woman prepared to leave, but was interrupted by a rather out-of-place question.

"By the way, girl, when is the forest at its darkest?" queried one of the four men, who presumably, was the Ahmed that had ordered the two beers.

"F-forest, sir?" The woman was startled by the mention of the evil expanse of woods that had just appeared that day.

Ahmed nodded.

Jun could feel her hands shaking slightly. "That w-would be on the third day, s-sir." She managed to blurt out. The forest was not something forbidden to talk about, but the deacons and the Elders were usually sensitive about the topic.

"I see." Replied Ahmed, and returned to conversing with his three other friends, something along the lines of Ostrich-raising.

Jun quickly put the order up onto the bulletin board over the counter, and two bottles of an amber-coloured liquid were pushed back by one of the bartenders, Pailong. The woman muttered a quick thanks, and rushed to deliver the orders.

…………………………………………………..

"What's that?"

"Where?"

"That thing over there, falling from the sky."

Ren pointed madly at a small, dark shape, which was falling from the expense of sky, just a bit above the dark forest. It plummeted to the ground at a breakneck speed, and disappeared into the leafy treetops of the forbidden area.

"I don't see anything." Replied Pirika blankly, looking at her friend as if he was crazy. Ren shook his head, and stalked off with an air of annoyance. The girl soon followed, still wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"Where?!"

………………………………………………….

"Ow."

The birds of the forest paused, upon hearing a clear, female voice rise above the sounds of the oncoming wind.

"Ow."

It said again, as more small animals came to observe the thing that had fallen from the sky, a few moments ago.

The strange, two-legged creature lifted her head to look at the numerous pairs of eyes peering at her curiously. She glared at them coldly.

There, in a crook of the roots of a large Beech, lay a girl. Her leg was splayed out at an awkward angle, and her pale face was contorted in pain. She opened her dark, dark eyes, and observed the injuries that she had sustained. A bit of blood stained the black dress that she wore, but it didn't show. She took a bit more time to discover her broken leg, and quite foolishly, tried to see if she could stand up.

"Damn!"

Her sharp voice echoed into the treetops, sending several birds flying into the sky.

……………………………………………………………….

"What's going on there?" Yoh mused to himself, upon seeing the birds suddenly scatter into the clear skies, from the forest. He looked at the dark melange of trees for a bit more, then shrugged, and went back to his hammock, to nap before the festivities started.

Humming, the boy turned the volume of his walkman up, and strolled home.

Author's notes

Haha, first SK fic here! :D I hope it suits your needs. This IS just the first chapter, after all, and yes, I think it is going to be YohAnna. An AU thing, mind you. Kindly leave a review, a bit of advice, and anything that might be helpful. :)