A/N- Hi! This is my first Cardcaptor Sakura fic, so it's not perfect - far from it, actually, 'cause I'm not a very good writer, anyway. I really appreciate you reading this, though! If you can help me make it better, I'd be grateful for your help - but please use CONSTRUCTIVE criticism; any flames with be used to cook brownies.
Souten
Disclaimer - If you recognize it from Cardcaptor Sakura, I don't own it.
Sorcerer
By Souten
"- and a Sorcerer of unmatchable skill will rise up. Do not be mistaken, for there will seem to be another..."
Naoko raised her hand.
"Yes, Yanagisawa-chan?"
"Does that mean that Clow-san wasn't the strongest sorcerer ever?" Naoko asked. Terada-sensei smiled; this is why he was so happy to be teaching this group again, they were all so perceptive.
"Maybe he was, but I don't really think so. Clow-san supposedly had two guardians, Cerebrus and Yue, that took their power from the sun and moon respectively, remember? According to this particular legend, there is only one guardian," he responded, gesturing to the book in his hands as he spoke.
"That seems impossible, Terada-sensei," Chiharu put in. "From what you told us, between his cards, his guardians, and his own powers, Clow-san could do anything - and we're even told that his powers were unsurpassed."
"Well, yes, that does seem to be the case, doesn't it? Alright then, tonight's homework is to tell me what you think. Is it possible to surpass Clow-san in power?If so, then how? Include your reasoning, details, and anything else you deem appropriate. Just remember to think quality, not quantity," Terada-san instructed his class just as the bell rang. Tomoyo began to pack up as she leaned over to Sakura.
"Hey Sakura-chan, what do you think? Is it possible?" she asked her best friend. Sakura frowned and began to pack up as well.
"Hmm...I'm not really sure," Sakura began slowly as the two girls left the classroom. "I mean, before he split his power, Eriol-kun definitely seemed a lot stronger than me..."
"Oi!" called Chiharu running up from behind them. "Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan! We're all going to get ice cream and work on our homework in the park, do you want to come?"
"Sure!" agreed Sakura happily.
"Love to," Tomoyo added.
"Great! C'mon, let's go!" Chiharu said, bounding off towards Rika, Yamazaki, Naoko, and Syaoran. Sakura took hold of Tomoyo's hand and pulled her after her. After some talking and laughing, the group of friends set off.
Sakura couldn't really remember why she had been so anxious about studying old legends, myths, and the beings in them. It was really interesting, and a lot of fun. The fourteen-year-old girl was quiet for a moment, absently eating her vanilla ice cream cone. But was it possible to surpass the power of Clow? It didn't seem it - Sakura could do nearly anything with her cards, and Eriol had been free to do quite a bit even without them (channeling her magic without help was something Sakura was still working on).
"Yen for your thoughts?"
Sakura started slightly, nearly dropping her cone, though she managed to save it by catching the scoop in her hand. Watching the girl replace it on the cone, Syaoran smiled kindly and offered her a napkin. She took it sheepishly, and began cleaning the ice cream off her fingers.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to startle you," Syaoran apologized. "What were you thinking about?"
"It's okay. I was just thinking about our assignment tonight," responded Sakura. "It's really hard to decide if there could be anyone stronger than Clow-san."
"I don't think so," interjected Chiharu. "I mean, look at everything Clow-san could do. It's kind of hard to think of anything that could do more."
"That's true," Rika added. "But it's like Terada-sensei says about the work we do - quality, not quantity."
"It's possible to do a lot and still be powerful," Yamazaki put in. "Clow-san was, after all, the strongest sorcerer in his era, if not all time."
"Of course it is," Tomoyo agreed, "but it's just as possible to do a little, and be even stronger."
"It's weird talking about this stuff with everybody, ne?" Syaoran whispered to Sakura. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Hai. It's nice, though," she whispered back. Syaoran made a small sound of agreement.
"What do you think, Sakura-chan?" Naoko asked. Sakura looked up and shrugged.
"I don't know. Clow-san was very powerful, and I'm sure that he could do a lot more than just what we've heard about, but some things just don't fit," she answered.
"Un. Like Clow-san having two guardians when then legend says one," Syaoran appended.
"The legend could be wrong," Chiharu argued.
Naoko shook her head, "Iie, legends are never wrong. That's why they're legends."
"Aa. Li-kun and Sakura-chan are right. I don't think Clow-san was the strongest," Rika decided. Chiharu frowned and opened her mouth.
"He could have been," Yamazaki amended. "The second guardian could have been created later."
"Perhaps," Tomoyo consented. Yamazaki grinned and held up an index finger.
"Did you know that in ancient times -"
"DON'T LIE!"
Chiharu huffed as she sat down again, muttering angrily about compulsive liars under her breath.
The landscape was empty. It stretched on and on, forever it seemed, with nothing to break up the monotony except for a single hill. The weeping willow was in full bloom, and provided sharp contrast to it's gray, dreary surroundings. Green, green grass and flowers marked the hillside around the tree, and inside the circle of it's branches stood a girl - very possibly the only being within the depressing realm.
She an ethereal creature. Golden-silver hair flowed freely down to her ankles and long, slightly ragged bangs framed her delicate features, vaguely obscuring her cat-like amber eyes. A graceful white cheongsam adorned her lithe body, slit up the sides to mid-thigh. Underneath was a pair of slightly baggy white pants and white cloth shoes. White armguards and gloves protected her hands, and form fitting white armor protected her chest. The simple ensemble suited her, made her glow within her surroundings and enhanced her already stunning features.
The girl began to move, each action fluid and graceful. She was bored, simply put, and going through her katas provided temporary escape. She had been imprisoned there for thousands of years, a creation of the gods themselves, and would not be set free until she had a master and a purpose. Both of which, she had long decided, were hard to come by. Her master would give her a name, as well, she was told.
She wanted a name.
She wanted freedom, too.
It wasn't to be, she supposed. The gods had created her for a purpose, sealed her here until she was useful again. That was why it was barren - so she wouldn't lose her edge. It worked; there was little else to do besides train her skill. Her skill in martial arts, her skill in weaponry, and, most important of all, her skill in magic.
Despite the solitude she was condemned to, the girl was allowed to break it on occasion; allowed to watch the world beyond the Heavens. She had watched as Alexander the Great built his empire, observed the fall of the Roman's. She'd surveyed China's succession of Dynasties, the powerplay of the Daishou in Japan. She had seen England spread it's fingers across the world, and the resulting birth of a new nation. She had witnessed much of histories greatest offerings, but all from the sidelines; unaffected and powerless.
And it all had to do with war, power, and privilege. She knew the best wartime tactics now, what made a leader rise to success or fail miserably, the best way to manipulate a little power to gain more. How the samurai and ninja trained, their secrets were hers - as were the techniques of China and Korea's very best. The magicians were there as well - from Bartimeaus to Milian, Icarus, and Clow.
And so she was the greatest of all. The strongest. The gods had chosen to make her such - it was imperative. She held the Circle, after all, and she had to protect it. Her master would be the one to control it, to decide it's fate. And her master would be given the knowledge she had collected, so as to do it well.
When the Threat came, the Master of the Circle would would arise; she would have a purpose, and be released. That the Threat would come was a given. It was merely a question of Time. And she was getting very tired of Time.