Chapter Two
Journal Entry 169:
It is now early November. Ive wandered the whole of this continent in search of the others and found nothing. Donovan, Raven, Redeemer, Kevyn.I still see their faces and hear their voices. Its all so clear to me now. All the memories of those years still possess a power unlike anything I have ever known before. Whereas all my other memories of past lives feel two dimensional, these have a life all their own. They are me.
Ive traveled all of Mexico, United States, and Canada in search of even the faintest traces of their spirits. Nothing remains of what were once the Guardians. I am all thats left. Though part of me still wants to continue my search, I know in my heart that they are all gone. Once again I have outlived all that I love. I am cursed to this life it seems.
All I wanted was my freedom. I wanted a normal life. The chance was given to me, but I can still never have it. In my travels of these past six months I have come to understand that I can never have a peaceful and normal life. People cannot accept me for what I am, what I have become. They fear me or call me evil. Some just think of me as a freak. I cannot deny what I am. I have powers unlike anything the mortal world has ever seen.
That is another thing I have discovered in recent months. All the power I had before is still with me. But, this time, I lack the guidance or the consciousness of my Guardians or other parts. Now all the power is mine and no one to share it with. I laugh at the thought, but it a laugh without mirth. Never had I thought Id end up so bitterly alone. There is no purpose to my wasted existence. I try so hard to live a mortal life only to find that people cannot accept that I am different.
So very different.
Sighing heavily Hachiliah closed the notebook she had been writing in. Her journal had become something more like a diary in past days. But, it was no wonder. For nearly a week now she had been camping out deep in the woods beside an icy river. The weather had gone cold over a month ago and it was getting rough. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or even slept a full night. During the day her mind was plagued with memories and thoughts of misery and darkness. In the peace of night she suffered from the eternal nightmares of lives gone by.
Though her body was weak and gnawed with hunger, she found herself once more beyond physical discomfort. The cold of the air and earth in her favorite of seasons only fueled her desires for seclusion. Though emotions roiled and churned violently inside, they did so beneath an eternal mask of icy unfeeling. Setting aside the notebook that had become her only companion in her travels, Hachiliah shut all thoughts out of her mind.
On a distant cliff overlooking a dangerously cold and violently churning river sat a strangely lonely girl. Skin so pale as to hold a pallor of death was covered serenely in the calming peaceful color of black. Her thin form took on the appearance of a shadow as the sun began to set. The only visible traces of skin lay within the glowing hue of her hands and head. Yet the paleness of her skin was accentuated all that much more by the white of her hair. Long ago Hachiliah's hair had been bleached to a flowing white by the powers she had wielded. Only nineteen years old and already her hair gave her the appearance of an ancient. But the sagely respect she commanded came not from the hair, but the endless, ageless look of her eyes. Unlike any other set of eyes ever known, Hachiliah's held all the colors of the rainbow in alternating slashes that erupted from the black dot that was her pupil in a star-burst of color.
Freak.
The word echoed hollowly through her mind for the millionth time that day. Always she could hear it and a million others. Even if people didn't know what she could do, none failed to miss her hair or eyes. Or the countless other scars across her body that led her to wear such dark and completely concealing clothes.
Freak.
Thousands of voices rose within the depths of Hachiliah's mind to repeat it one more time. That word and countless others had followed her all her life. Yet, never had they burned so painfully into her mind as they did now. The pain stabbed at her chest and tore into her spirit with a vengeance. No, she would never be right. She could never fit in and this was her last chance for normality and acceptance.
For just a moment Hachiliah thought about giving in to the tears that threatened her eyes. Blinking them away, she held firmly to her resolve. No more tears would be shed by this one. Long ago she had shed all the tears that would ever mean anything to her or others. Any tears she shed now would be hollow and useless. Nodding slowly, Hachiliah knew what she had to do. With the sorrow of acceptance and understanding, she slowly rose to her feet.
Heaving a sigh weighted with the regrets of a lifetime, Hachiliah stepped up to the edge of the cliff. As her eyes gazed to the icy waters below a peace and tranquility stole over her spirit. This was right. She knew what she was about to do was probably the first correct decision she had made in some time. Never had she given up on anything before, but even the wisest of Dragons knew when it was time to accept defeat. Without regret, without fear, Hachiliah turned her eyes to the sky and let it all go. Ever so slowly the ground beneath her feet shifted and she at last felt the peaceful rush of wind as the world tilted crazily for just a moment in the vertigo of free fall.
Then nothing..
Less than a mile away, five young men awoke with a violent start in their beds. All sweat with cold fear as the darkness around them began to shift and pale into the gentle light of night. Ever since the unexpected feeling of awakening six months ago all had been on edge. With mixed fear and determination they had waited the next battle that would bring them closer to their destiny once again. But, for all their wariness and expectancy, none had come. After a time they had begin to relax and continue on with their lives in the hopes of finally finding a lasting peace and normality. Soon the feeling was forgotten.
Until now.
Breathing deeply to calm himself, one dark-haired young man sat up stiffly in bed. All he could remember of the nightmare was lingering feeling of guilt and kindredship. For several moments he sat in the darkness trying to recall the images, but could find none. Clinging desperately to this one feeling, he fought to find in his mind what had spawned such a feeling.
His searching was interrupted by a tentative knock on his door. Knowing that only one person in the house would come to his room after having had another nightmare, he pulled himself together and turned on the light.
"Come on in, Cye", he called softly, so as not to wake their other companions in their rooms across the hall.
"Another nightmare, Ryo?" Cye asked softly, leaving the door open behind him as he approached his friends bed.
Grinning sheepishly, Ryo regretted having tried to hide it in the first place. "Yeah, sort of." Seeing his friends frown Ryo asked, Whats up, Cye? Cant sleep.
"You guys aren't the only ones, huh?"
Turning around, the two cast surprised looks at the young man standing in the door. "Rowen?" they asked in unison.
"This is a first," piped up a voice behind the one in the doorway. "I don't think Ive ever seen you up so early."
"No doubt, Sage," said a third as the two others entered Ryos room.
'Whats your excuse, Kento?" Rowen shot back. "Going to raid the fridge again?"
For once Kento didnt bother giving a comeback. Something told him that there was more to this situation than a midnight snack. Seeing all eyes on them, Ryo finally spoke up to the others.
"I had another nightmare, I guess," he said hesitantly. "Only, I cant remember what it was about. I just remember the feeling it left."
"Me too," Cye said softly beside him, with a confused look.
"Hmmm," Sage mumbled, his icy eyes going distant at the memory. "That makes three of us."
"All I remember was feeling like I was losing a part of myself somewhere," Rowen said behind a yawn.
Kento shook his head. "Nah. I felt more like I was supposed to be protecting someone or some strange thing like that."
Quietly Ryo shook his head, his brows furrowed in thought. "No. It was something more familiar. It was like a feeling of guilt or regret."
"That's pretty self explanatory," Cye said rolling his eyes. "What I felt was more like pain. But not like being hurt. It was a deep, scarring pain. It..."
Cye's words trailed off as he thought about how to describe it to the others. Thankfully Sage spoke up to save him the trouble.
"In my case, I only remember images. Bizarre and powerful images of magick and I don't know. They were just really unusual. I couldnt feel anything beside an agelessness of sorts."
For several seconds the five young men sat in silence as they thought over what might have just happened to them and what it might mean. But before any of them could get anywhere with their thoughts, all were thrown back into the present by a faraway cry of an all too familiar tiger.
"White Blaze!" Ryo gasped, jumping to his feet.
Before any of the others were even sure what had just happened, Ryo was already in his sub-armor and out the front door. Hearing a second, mournful howl from their friends tiger, the other four reflexively donned their sub-armor and followed suit. It didn't take the five Ronins long to catch up to their white tiger. He stood out starkly against the darkness that surrounded the edge of the river where he stood. Though curious and concerned, the five warriors paused at the sight of the tiger standing protectively over the body of a young woman. The innocent puppy look of concern on the tigers face would have been comical had it not been for the fact that a girl lay dying beside him.
Without further hesitation, the five gathered around the strangely old, looking young woman. Her clothes were soaked through and the cold had all but frozen her hair to the ground. Kneeling down close, Rowen checked to see if she was breathing and Sage checked for a pulse while Ryo calmed his tiger. Cye stood nearby wringing his hands worriedly while Kento punched his palm in frustration. After several seconds Ryo gazed at the three upon the ground expectantly.
Finally Rowen and Sage looked to one another before shaking their heads to the others.
Shes. Rowen started, but was cut off when he noticed the faraway look of Sages icy eyes.
Already Sages kanji of Wisdom glared brightly on his forehead. The gentle light illuminated the scene before them as the four others backed away.
"She's not gone," Sage mumbled, feeling as though he was being drawn away from himself. I can still...
Closing his eyes in determination, Sage focused all his power on the girl that lay before him. Placing one hand on her forehead and another on her heart, he strained to feel what it was that had called his power to him so strongly. There was something about this girl. Though her body ceased to function, there was a part of her that defied this death even as it welcomed it. Not just defied it, denied it. A part of her still lived.
His power was not enough. For all his effort he could feel her slipping farther and farther away from him. He had to do something to stall it. Until he could draw more power, he had to...
Without further thought, Sage flipped her over roughly and forced the water out of her lungs. Seeing this, Rowen jumped into action. Sage, fighting for focus while trying to breathe life into her once more, let Rowen handle the chest compressions.
"Help," Sage muttered, pulling further and further into himself to focus.
Moving in beside Rowen, Ryo took over mouth to mouth. Even as he did so, Sage struggled for control. Never did his hand leave the girl's forehead or heart. With these he linked himself to her, determined not to give up without a fight. Drawing ever more power, Sage could feel the warm glow of the other four kanjis as he drew upon his friends power.
Seeing their kanjis glowing gently in unison with Sages, the four Ronins stared dumbfounded at their friend who fought so desperately to save this girl. Never had they seen Sage pull in so much power or fight so tenaciously. Even as they watched, Sage began to sweat profusely and pale visibly. Just when they were sure Sage could do no more for her, he collapsed in a heap beside her. With a collective sigh of disappointment and concern for their friend, the other four moved to his side.
A moment later the girl began to cough and shiver beside them. For several seconds they could only stare in shock as White Blaze moved to nudge her. Seeing this motion from their tiger, the four helped to roll her over so she could breathe better. Though the coughing ceased and her breathing became more regular, she never quite regained consciousness. In a daze of shock and awe, they moved to get the girl back to their house.