Introduction
In an ancient ruin in Clow, the feathers of one girl fly away, slipping through thousands of dimensions, unaffected by time or space. Some fall into the hands of evil; others accidentally manipulate the weak hearted into becoming evil themselves. Only one escapes this fate.
In an icy palace in Seresu, one king cries for the loss of his queen and unborn son, his advisors unable to comfort him. But when destiny steps in, it looks like all is not quite lost. A chance walk on a balcony will start a chain of events that no one had ever dreamed of…but when magic and mortality mix, can there ever be a happy ending?
For love of a feather, one man's heart will die…
Chapter One; Discovery
King Ashura gazed through the crystalline glass of his balcony door, watching the sunrise with blank eyes. It had been a week since he had lost them…five more days and the cremation ceremony would be held, his wife's body burnt and the ashes of her and their unborn son scattered into the Whirlpool Of Memories, the traditional resting place for all Seresuan monarchs.
At such a delicate time, he knew that there were thousands of things to be taken care of, and a million more to start considering, but he found himself lacking the motivation to take any action, preferring just to wallow in his grief and remember happier times.
Ashura knew that his councillors spoke of his condition in hushed tones, whispering to each other of how he was descending into madness, departing their world for the realm of the insane – he didn't care. Let them think whatever they wanted of him…they would be unable to do anything about it, after all. Ancient Seresuan law stated that only one of royal blood with the ancient lineage of their ancestors could sit on the throne and call themselves King/Queen. And with the death of his queen and heir, there were no others who could take his place.
So he just stared through his door, watching the golden rays of sunlight creeping over his floating city, lightening the grey stone walls of the dwellings below. Feeling the sudden urge to see the rest of his kingdom, he pushed the doors open and strode out onto his balcony, a momentary flash of desperation flooding through his body. The feeling fading, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor, resting his forehead against the balcony railing and gazing out through the decorative gaps at the land below.
>Do the commoners feel this pain, this sense of being trapped?> He wondered, eyes drinking in the sight of the forests and towns of the land below.
>Those who live below us, away from the capital…those who live slower, rustic lives…do they ever feel such things as grief and loneliness? Down there, everyone supports each other…up here, the dangerous game of politics prevent us from ever truly having comrades we can rely on. The only one I was ever able to trust with my entire being was my wife, and now she's gone…do the commoners even know what it feels like to be alone?>
Sometimes, Ashura found himself wishing that he'd been born a commoner, not the prince and Royal Heir. Below the floating capital, in the golden fields below, he was sure that he would have found a much happier life for himself. Down there, there would have been no assassination attempts to startle his wife into premature labour…just a small, comfortable cottage with his wife resting on a bed, waiting for him to return from the fields.
A sob escaping him, Ashura suddenly found himself curling his right hand into a fist and beating it against the wall, his grief overwhelming him. He continued doing so until he ran out of energy, his bruised hand dropping into his lap, the red scrapes standing out clearly from his pale skin.
A sudden movement caught his attention, and Ashura turned his head to see what the pink flash he'd seen from the corner of his eyes had been, blinking in surprise as he saw a single pink feather drifting towards him, dislodged from its prison by Ashura's passionate outburst and carried by the slight dawn breeze.
Trembling, Ashura reached out and caught it, carefully trapping the delicate object in his hand. He was no fool – he could sense the powerful magic pulsing inside of his discovery, and he knew of its potential. Combined with his own magic, this feather could surely accomplish the one thing he wanted most in the world, the one dream that he had hardly dared to hope for.
It could bring back his wife.
Staggering to his feet, Ashura hurried back into his chambers, slamming the balcony door behind him lest a sudden stray wind steal his prize. Moving to his bookshelf he swept his eyes over his large collection of magical tomes before using his magic to send out a call to his servants, hearing the sound of their running feet only moments later as they rushed to serve him.
"Your Majesty called?" One boy panted, relieved that his king had finally ventured out of his mourning to summon them. However, he couldn't help being slightly unnerved as Ashura spun to face him, the king's pale cheeks flushed in excitement and an almost feverish glint in his eye.
"Yes…yes I did! Fetch my wife's coffin and bring it down to the Ceremonial Hall, as quickly as you can! And help me carry my books there!" He ordered quickly, gesturing for the nearest servants to begin transporting the volumes.
"Your Majesty! I…her coffin? I was under the impression that the cremation was not to be held until next week!" The servant gasped, his face paling. Ashura just grinned at him, a laugh that seemed to border on an insane cackle escaping his throat.
"There will be no cremation ceremony, Nathaniel! Today will mark my queen's return into this world, and there will be no lifeless body left to burn – mark my words!" He declared, sweeping out of the room, feather in hand.
Nathaniel stared after him with wide, frightened eyes, before glancing at his fellow servants and indicating for them to start moving.
"Come on then! Our king gave us our orders, and we'll follow them! Ayame, Mayuko, Sachiko! Help the others with Ashura-ou's books! The rest of you, follow me down to the Room of Rest!"
Seeing that there was still no movement, Nathaniel clapped his hands sharply, startling them all into action.
"Well what are you waiting for! Get moving!" He ordered, watching as they scrambled to do as they were told.
>Our king has finally gone insane.>
Seating himself in the centre of the large star that formed the main feature of the mosaic floor, Ashura worked feverishly, quickly arranging his books in a circle around him, each tome open to the correct page that he would need in order to complete his summoning. Beside him, the feather danced in the slight breeze caused by his movements, restrained from drifting away entirely by a red thread circled round its shaft and leading back to where it was tied to Ashura's little finger.
A sudden thumping sound caught his attention, and Ashura glanced up to see his wife's coffin lying at the bottom of the stairs, the servants staring anxiously down at it from the doorway, nervously searching for any damage caused by the fall. Ashura just waved them away, a flick of his hand levitating the magnificent jewel encrusted structure and moving it to the other end of the room, onto an altar he had set up in the miniature shrine.
Although he would have preferred for the coffin to have been handled with more care on its journey down to the Hall, Ashura realised that it would have been unavoidable whatever the circumstances – traditionally, only people with magic were allowed to set foot in the Ceremonial Hall, and it was a well known legend that one of Seresu's first kings had cast a spell preventing others from disregarding the rule…rumour had it that those without magic who dared to break the rule were burnt to death the moment they set foot inside, although there was no proof of the fact.
Consequently, Ashura had been forced to use his own power to transport his equipment inside the Hall, something that he had been reluctant to do since every levitation spell he performed was a drain on the spring of magic he had available to use in such an important ceremony.
Glancing around the hall, Ashura smiled as he saw that all was in place, and clasped his hands together in a final use of his power before the ritual, muttering strange words under his breath. As he spoke, shining wards suddenly appeared at the doors and windows, preventing anyone that wished to interfere from entering and interrupting. He knew fully well that his servants would have told the High Wizard and the rest of his court of his plan by now, and that Mahouda would be coming to put a stop to his attempts at resurrecting his wife, lest he put himself in danger.
But the wards would be powerful enough to stop Mahouda gaining entrance into the Hall until the ceremony was over.
Beginning to chant in earnest now, Ashura raised his arms to the pictures of the gods that were engraved onto the ceiling, calling for their blessing and help in his magic. Feeling the telltale wind that came from strong magic beginning to billow round him, he snapped the thread tying the feather to him, watching as it spun upwards, caught by the magic beginning to build.
"Answer my prayer, Zhiva…I summon thee to this Hall to do my bidding, to follow my will. Bring back my wife and unborn child…yield to me and reverse the actions of Veles…I call on you, under the watchful eye of Mokosh to respond and grant me my desire…"
Ashura chanted, dark eyes fluttering closed in concentration as he focused his mind on the old Seresuan gods, feeling the wind around him pick up as he continued on with his ritual. Above him, the feather was buffeted about by the wind, glowing every once in a while as Ashura drew power from it, spiralling frantically as it was assaulted by magic on all sides.
"Answer my prayer Chimata-No-Kami…guide their souls back from the realms of the dead and bring them safely to me…for the sake of Izanagi and Izanami, restore those who have been lost to me…I call on you with Benzaiten's blessing to restore the life of my beloved wife…I call on you with Ama-No-Uzume's blessing to give my son a chance to live…"
Furrowing his brow, Ashura felt sweat beginning to trickle from his forehead as he was pushed to the limits of his magical capability, the backlash from calling on so many gods and goddesses at once almost more than he could take. As he drew heavily on the power of the feather in order to keep going, the delicate object pulsed erratically, a blur as it was thrown about by the rising storm that was rapidly forming inside of the Hall.
Hearing voices behind him, Ashura chanced a look at the main entrance, only to see Mahouda and the other wizards staring desperately at him, throwing attack after attack at his wards in a panicked attempt to get to their king and pull him to safety. Gritting his teeth, Ashura turned back towards his wife's coffin, feeling a small shred of hope as the structure shifted, beginning to glow with an otherworldly light.
Clearing his throat, Ashura launched into the final part of the ritual, throwing everything he had left into the force of his will, breath coming in short, sharp pants that burned their way down his throat as the strain began to get too much for him.
"By the might of the four seasons; I call on the power of the East, Seiryu! The power of the West, Byakko! The power of the North, Genbu! The power of the Sou…"
A sudden creaking noise caught his attention, and Ashura glanced up to see one of the great pillars, knocked off balance by the storm, crashing down towards him. Dark eyes wide, he sprang to his feet and ran to safety, taking care to keep his hands in the correct position and the rites clear in his mind.
Behind the wards, his wizards fought desperately to get through, unable to do anything except watch helplessly as the pillars began to collapse one by one, followed by pieces of ceiling in some places. The ritual had been too much – the Ceremonial Hall was coming down.
Screeching to a stop, Ashura focused himself on his queen's coffin again, pouring his entire being back into the ceremony now that the immediate danger had passed, blocking out the sounds of falling rubble.
"The power of the S…gaaah!" Yet again his incantation was cut off, this time by the strong gust of wind that slammed into him hard, knocking him to the floor. Caught up in its power, Ashura could only cry out as he was slid backwards into the one pillar that remained standing, his head making contact against the smooth marble with a sickening crack.
Slumping sideways, Ashura watched with hazy vision as the coffin's light faded and the wind began to die down, his spell slowly dissipating away as he lost consciousness. Glancing wearily upwards, he saw the feather's glow vanish as it fluttered down to land on his chest, resting over his heart. His eyes closing, Ashura coughed weakly, his final attempt to finish what he had started slipping almost silently past his lips.
"By the power of the South, Suzaku…"
Slipping into merciful darkness, Ashura didn't see the pillar beside him beginning to topple, or that area of ceiling finally collapsing. Nor did he see the frantic wizards as they rushed towards him, past his failed wards, in an impossible attempt to save their king.
No one saw how the feather responded to Ashura's final words, shining brighter and brighter, until a curved shield of pink light spread over the fallen king.
And then the Hall came crashing down.
Author's Note
Heh...did anyone notice the bit about the feather being tied to Ashura's pinkie with red thread? For anyone who doesn't know, it's a Japanese myth that when two people are destined for each other, they're tied together with a red thread attached to their pinkies. I couldn't help myself!
Oh, and if anyone got confused by all of the gods Ashura was calling on, I used a mixture of gods/goddesses from the cultures I thought suited Seresu best; The pagan gods of Russia,The Japanese gods, and the four guardians of Kyoto and China. See below for what they actually symbolise. Read and review please!
Zhiva - Chief goddess of the WesternSlavs, the goddess of life vigour. (Therefore the perfectRussian goddess to give back Ashura's wife's life)
Mokosh - The slavic pagan goddess who gives and takes life, the spinner of the Thread of Life. AKA The Fate (If you don't get this, it's hopeless)
Veles - The slavic pagan god of death and the underworld. (This is the god Ashura wants to 'reverse the actions' of)
Chimata-No-Kami - Japanese god of crossroads and footpaths. (Not really connected to death, but I'm bending the rules to make him guide lost spirits through the crossroads of death to get to Heaven)
Izanagi - The creator god of Japan, married to Izanami. He failed in his attempts to save his wife, who died in childbirth. (Sound familiar? This is Ashura all over)
Izanami - The Japanese goddess who could give birth to anything, the creator goddess who created Japan. She died in childbirth giving birth to the god of fire. Even though Izanagai went down into the Underworld, he failed to bring her back. (Again, really connected to Ashura's story - he prays that for their sakes this time a wife will be saved)
Benzaiten - The Japanese goddess of love. (If you don't get this reference, I pity you. Of course he loved his wife.)
Ama-No-Uzume - Japanese fertility goddess. (Ashura wants her to give his son a chance to live.)
Seiryu - Blue dragon of the East, associated with Spring, wood, conflict and wedded bliss. (To be honest, I only put him in so I could have Suzaku)
Byakko - White tiger of the West, associated with Autumn, metal, righteousness and clairvoyance. (Again, just added for Suzaku)
Genbu - Snake/Turtle/Tortoise of the North, associated with Winter, water, long life and happiness (Just added for Suzaku, but he fits the bill too)
Suzaku - Phoenix of the South, associated with Summer, fire, knowledge and conflict/wedded bliss (Because for me, no matter the fic or pairing, Fai's markings will always be the markings of the Suzaku)
Thanks to hentai-monkey who was my sole reviewer! God bless ya! Shame on you, everyone else who wanted me to write this fic! But if you review this one, I'll forgive you! (Wink)