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Beyond that wall of sky touching mountains was a valley, a village covered with a blanket of white snow, a place where the spirit beasts lived.

Wind rushed past his frame, pushing his cape down from his head, his midnight black hair dancing passionately in the air. The day was cold and his journey was a long one. Day after day he had been looking for the crimson stone that was the core of his beloved. But he wasn't there for the stone. He was there to track down the energy he had been sensing for the last 3 days. He was a Kage from the Imperial council, the people who maintained the peace of the world and all its domains; humans, beasts, spirits, fairies, elves, dwarves.

Not just any human had what it took to become a Kage. But both his parents had the ability to 'see', so it wasn't surprising when he could see the pixies playing in his mother's rose beds when he was only 6. A rare being. That what he was. A gem in all domains.

He looked up at the colossal wall which guarded the village. Lifting his hand, he drew a circle in air.

MAKE WAY

A whisper and the circle became a ring of blue flames, getting bigger and bigger until it opened up a portal for the Kage. He brought the cape back on his head, his hand brushing against the sapphire earring in his right ear. A gift from his beloved.

He held his breath, his blue eyes wide and staring at the creature on the other side of the portal. He had expected to find a guard but not that the guard would be a magestic lion, fur darker than the darkest night and eyes redder than fresh blood. Rin could see something shining bright red in the center of its chest.

"Magnificent",he whispered, a hand on his sheathed sword under his black cape. He flexed his knees, his leather boots crushing the snow beneath as he got ready to pounce at the beast. The beast stepped out of the ring, shaking the ground with every step that it took. It roared and the snow on the summit of the mountains behind it shook before rolling down the slopes and crashing on the cold ground. Rin hid his face behind his arm, shielding himself against the huge clouds of snow that fall had given rise to.

Something wasn't right. The Kage could feel a shiver run down his spine. The air was heavy and was that smoke he smelled? Fire? And in the middle of a snow laden village.

About two or three yards away from the boy, the lion roared again, digging its dark, razor sharp claws into the ground before it jumped at him.

The Kage pursed his lips as he stood there awaiting the lion's approach and when the beast was barely a meter away, a blueish radiance surrounded the boy. The sword was unsheathed, a moment of contact and he was past the lion. All went silent and then the creature crashed to the ground, revealing a single slash across its abdomen. Blood began to pool around its body, seeping into the snow.

"You will live if you don't lose a lot of blood", the human said looking down at the fallen beast which whimpered, its crimson eyes begging for something. The Kage looked over at the portal, a cloud of smoke coming out of it.

"What is going on in there?"He asked the bleeding lion at his feet. The creature seemed to have shrunk, his previously loud breathing mere whispers now.

"You have lost a lot of energy. Rest."

The boy raised his arm, a blueish magic circle appearing on his palm.

HEALER'S CONFINEMENT.

The lion's body began to float before it was enclosed inside a crystal orb. Inside that confinement, its wound began to heal.

But why would the Kage do that? The answer was right there.

On the other side of the portal, the village had been burnt down to ashes, not a single beast spirit alive except for the one currently at the brink of unconsciousness. He sat down on the hard ground, legs crossed and fingers tapping on his knee as he tried to come up with a possible explanation of the situation.

He had come to that mountain in the beast domain because he had sensed a foreign energy and what had he come across? A village burnt to ground and a lion spirit going berserk.

'You alive, Rin?'

'Yeah, Kim.'

'So you haven't gotten eaten by a beast spirit yet? Good.'

'Something's wrong. The village is gone.'

"Gone? Define gone",Kim thought, as he pushed his thin, round glasses up his nose bridge, his books in his hands as he strolled down the hallway to his class of defense magic.

'It has been burnt to the ground.'

'No survivors?'

'Except one but it isn't in its perfect shape.'

"What! Don't tell me you killed the only survivor!", he cried standing in the doorway. Heads turned towards the short brown haired elf.

'Ugh! My head! How many times have I told you not to scream when we are using telepathy?'

Hiding his flushed face, the elf looked for a vacant seat before finding one at the back of the hall.

'Sorry.'

'No, I didn't kill it. It's in healer's confinement.'

'Poor creature.'

'A lion. Black fur. Red eyes. What do you think?'

'Hmmm. That's a rare blood.'

'Big deal?'

'Rin, it might be the member of the family leading that village. Did you find the core?'

Rin laid down on his back, crushing the snow underneath.

'No.'

'Hmm. Maybe you should stop.'

'I can't . I will not rest until I put her soul at peace.'

He closed his eyes, memories of her instantly resurfacing in his mind; her clear blue eyes, her rich blonde curls, her pearly white teeth. She was his friend, the first one that he made when he had gotten in the Imperial academy. She was a fairy from a lost kingdom. Her tribe had been hunt down by ogres. Hunted and killed. That's why she was there; to get stronger, to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

But he couldn't protect her.

She died in front of his eyes as he laid there helpless in a pool of his own blood. But he was alive. Because she had lost her life instead.

Alicia. He rubbed his stinging eyes.

'Rin?'

'I'll talk to you later.'

'You always do this. I don't want you to be alone when I know you want to cr-'

He cut off the communication. Rude. But that was his way of dealing with his emotions.

He sat up,"Whoa. You don't look like a lion at all."

Kneeling there in the middle of the orb was a young man cladded in a gray kimono. His long black hair fell over his shoulders and his crimson eyes were hazy. Rin double tap the crystal and it vaporized, setting free the boy inside who landed on his feet. Seeing him sway, Rin hastily stepped forward, grabbing him by his shoulders.

"That was close."

The boy leaned into Rin, resting his sweaty forehead on Rin's shoulder. Feeling the boy's body burning up, Rin sighed,"I guess I can't leave you here to freeze to death."

TELEPORT.

A large magic circle materialized under their feet, its blueish radiance illuminating the boys' features. There was a gust of wind and then they were gone, the circle gradually fading away.