Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Prophecy ❯ The Beginning: part02 ( Chapter 2 )

~Third Revision

Prophecy
by: Lotus-chan
The Beginning: part02

 

When they arrived at the auction house it was dusk. The place was already cramped and there were still people outside waiting to get in. Word had spread fast of the Pirate Ship that had gone slightly off course in the sudden hurricane and many who had agreed to be at the Black Market in the Sank Kingdom had traveled south, despite the danger of being caught, into the Roma Empire for their `merchandise'.

The pirate captain had the coachman stop at the back of the auction house. He looked at Duo, "Can you..."

 

"I'm fine." he said, cutting him off.

 

The captain frowned, "If I were you, I would start acting like the slave you are. Your new owner may not be as tolerant of this attitude as I am." and with that he pulled Duo to his feet with the chains and walked off the carriage.

Duo followed him through the back door of the auction house without removing his glare from the mans back. Inside, the plain wood halls were dark. People banged on doors from within passing rooms and the rattling of chains told him just who those people must be. He briefly wondered if the girl he'd met earlier was in one of those rooms. Abruptly they stopped and the captain took out the key that was already in the lock of a door and opened it.

"Get in." he said. Duo favored the idea of sweeping the guy and running but then someone from behind pushed him inside. He stumbled into the room and the door slammed shut behind him. Duo growled and kicked the door in his frustration.

 

Someone unfamiliar on the other side laughed and said, (1)"Tsuberov-sama doesn't usually like disobedient slaves but he might enjoy breaking this one." He laughed again but the captain's only clear answer was to lock the door and walk away.

----------

Duo sat in a corner of his new cell for what seemed like hours. He mused over what had happened to him in the last few days and wondered if he'd ever see Quatre or Trowa again.

 

He raised his knees up to his chest and brought his forehead down to rest on them. The moment he had finally convinced Quatre and Trowa that he didn't need to have body guards at his side every waking moment was the time he got kidnapped by pirates. Gods but he had some luck...

Duo raised his head when he heard footsteps coming down the halls. The steps halted outside his door and he heard the jiggle of keys in the lock before the door opened. Two men stood outside his cell. One was holding a torch and dressed very extravagantly. His robes were large and billowing with intricate designs and gold trimmings. A nobleman? All the way out here? The other man he recognized right away. It was the Pirate Captain. "This is him?" said the nobleman.

The captain nodded, "Yes, Lord Tsuberov." He looked at Duo, "On your feet, slave." Duo glared and didn't move.

 

Tsuberov chuckled, "Oh I can already see I'm going to like him. What was his age again?"

 

"Fifteen." the captain replied.

 

Tuberov nodded as if satisfied, "Never have I heard of such a thing. A Healer this young." He grinned broadly, "and male... I will be the envy of every slave owner in the Sank Kingdom." He turned his attention on Duo, "Listen, Ecomancer. I am your new master. You will address me as either Lord Tsuberov or `your Excellency' from now on, is that clear?"

Duo remained silent, the death glare he gave them both never wavering in the slightest but instead of becoming angry, Tsuberov laughed. It made Duo even more angry. The captain however, was not so pleased. He entered the room, finding the chain attached to Duo's shackles and pulled him to his feet. Another man, who could only have been one of Tuberov's servants, or possibly a body guard from his size, entered then to take Duo's `leash' before the captain could do anything else. "Where did you find such an interesting specimen?" Tsuberov asked when the captain returned to the door.

The captain looked at him with obvious displeasure, "He was taken from a quarantined fishing village on the coast of Asia Minor, that's all you need to know. If you are not to be acquiring any more slaves this evening, Lord Tsuberov, I have important matters to attend to. Have a safe journey home." He said the last part with forced politeness, almost sarcastically and without a second glance, walked out. Tsuberov stared after him with a frown. There was obviously something the pirate captain had not liked about him.

Tsuberov dismissed the captains exit quickly enough and turned a chilling grin back on Duo. "You will ride with me in my coach until we reach the Sank/Roma boarder. I realize that in some countries Ecomancers have the authority of nobility but you are now my slave. I will expect you to act accordingly and give me all the respect I deserve. Do this and all will go well with you. Defy me and," his grin widened, "I will enjoy the outcome, although you may not be able to say the same."

Duo schooled his features to remain a mask of anger but couldn't help feeling slightly nervous. He would have to get away, somehow, but in the meantime he resolved to play along. He allowed a small smile to touch his lips although the burning glare in his eyes never faded and nodded. Tsuberov seemed to accept that and led the way into the hall.

The large man that had hold of his chains took off after him and Duo followed. It was a short trip down the hall to the back entrance of the auction house. Now outside his cell he could hear all the commotion from up front where would-be slave owners placed bids on the men and women who had come off the pirate ship.

With out warning the loud sounds of doors slamming open and men yelling something over the crowd caught his attention. Suddenly the entire auction house seemed to have been thrown into a panic. Duo stopped, wondering what could've happened. There was the sound of several hoofs patting against the cobble stone streets, people shouting, horses neighing, and Tsuberov also stopped. "It's the Roma Guard!" He turned around to address his slave, "Get those shackles off him now!" The man nodded and pulled out the keys to Duo's restraints.

The man unlocked them and the moment they fell from his wrists Duo took off at a dead run. The words "Get him!" roared at his back and before he knew it, Tsuberov's servant had caught up with him. The man grabbed him from behind and pulled something cool and sharp against his neck. He whispered into his ear, "I don't have permission to kill you after all that money my Lord paid for you but I *can* hurt you. If you don't want that, I suggest that you come with me."

Duo began to nod but it only caused the knife to dig deeper into his throat. He felt a trickle of blood against his skin and froze. Tsuberov's body guard grinned and pulled the knife away slowly. To his surprise the man turned him around and pulled him up and onto his shoulder in a (2)fireman's carry. He held onto him with one arm and ran back to Tsuberov who was waiting impatiently. "Get him into the coach, now!" The man nodded and ran out the door, Tsuberov at his heels.

Directly outside was a single horse drawn coach, surrounded on both ends with uniformed men on horse back. They were Tsuberov's escort, waiting impatiently for his return. As Duo was being carried into the coach, one of his guardsmen came up to him. "Lord Tsuberov, the Roma Guard is out front. If we're seen they will surely want to inquire about your activities here."

 

Tsuberov waved him away, "Return to your post, we are leaving whether the Roma Guard is here or not."

 

The man nodded, unquestioning. "Sir!"

Tsuberov got into the coach, closing the door behind him. As soon as the man sat down, Duo felt the coach begin to move but even as they were leaving, he heard the patting of distant horses on the street getting closer and men yelling for them to stop. The coach slowed to a stop, not having gone more than a yard from where it had been. Duo looked at the door expectantly. Maybe the Roma Guard would help him get away from these people.

Even as he thought it, Tsuberov's body guard who was sitting between him and the door, pulled out his knife and pressed it against his side, his arm between them so it wouldn't be seen from the right. "Say anything to embarrass or jeopardize Lord Tsuberov, say anything *at all* and I will gut you here and now, despite what my master paid for you." Duo tensed, glaring at the candles in their brackets on the other side of the coach. He clenched his fists at his sides in silent frustration.

As the sound of a horse approached the coach door the man growled out, "keep your hands at your sides." He was eyeing the armguards uneasily. Duo reluctantly did as told, conscious of the blade ready to impale his kidneys. That's when the unnamed goon spotted his still bloody neck and the embroidery on Duo's robes.

 

Just as there was a knock on the door, he pulled what was left of Duo's messy braid from behind him and set it over his shoulders to cover the wound and his robes. Duo gave him a sharp glare and grabbed his only vanity from the man. The goon dug the knife in deeper and Duo returned his hands to his sides with a nasty growl.

Tsuberov leaned over and pulled aside the curtain that hung over the door's window. The man on the other side must have been holding a torch for the yellow-orange light that bathed his face and platinum blonde hair. The blue eyes that looked inside from behind that platinum hair, widened with surprise at the coach's occupants.

 

Tsuberov seemed equally surprised to see the other. "Lord Tsuberov," said the other man suspiciously, "what brings you to a small fishing village in the Roma Empire at these late hours?"

Tsuberov, now over his initial surprise, grinned at him. "Zechs Merquise. I thought you were part of the Imperial Guard. What on Earth did you do to get demoted to the simple authorities?" he said mockingly.

 

Zechs wasn't deterred, "I am still the head of the Imperial Guard, Tsuberov. It was His Highness himself who sent me down to investigate a possible slave ship entering the empire. You do realize that the slave market in the Roma Empire is forbidden..." It was not a question. The conversation held notes of one they'd had before.

Tsuberov nodded waving him away. "Of course I know..."

 

"Then what are you doing here?" Zechs interrupted flatly.

 

Tsuberov glared as if insulted. "I came down because I had been given word of an antiques auction that would be selling rare and valuable pieces. I arrived only a short while ago and when I saw this was nothing but a slave auction I had prepared to take my leave. At least until you came down to question me." He added indignantly.

Zechs was not amused, "If your intentions are as innocent as you claim then why is your carriage at the back entrance?"

 

Tsuberov hesitated briefly before his angry mask returned full force. "A man of my position would never usually come to a small godforsaken village like this. The antiques auction was my only concern, not getting trampled by the common village people. I sent someone inside and the owner was more than happy to have me use the back as a private entrance."

Duo squirmed slightly in his seat, unconsciously trying to shy away from the blade at his waist, and only succeeding in having the body guard dig slightly deeper, warningly. He was lucky the blade had not yet drawn blood. At the thought he stopped and simply stared at the wall. At first he'd been surprised by how easily a fabricated story had come to Tsuberov when he'd needed cover but then, he mused that this man probably had practice.

Zechs looked at the other occupants in the carriage, "who are they?"

 

Tsuberov calmly motioned to the two sitting across from him, "This is my body guard while in your empire and this is my attendant."

 

Zechs looked at Duo suspiciously, "He's a little young, isn't he?" Duo looked at him, his face blank at the warning glare from the body guard but his eyes pleading.

A voice yelling something from behind caught his attention and Zechs turned around on his horse. Another man rode up to him and said something that was drowned out by an explosion from within the auction house. Even through the small window, Duo could see beyond Zechs that the auction house had caught fire. "Don't let them get away!" Zechs yelled at the other guardsman over the roar of the fire and screams of people. With a final "Yes, sir!" the man took off.

"It seems you have more important things to deal with, Zechs. Why don't you just let me go. I have done nothing wrong here." Tsuberov said smugly.

 

Zechs looked inside at Duo one last time before turning his gaze to Tsuberov. "I have nothing to hold you with, so you can leave."

 

Tsuberov raised an eyebrow, "but?"

 

Zechs frowned determinedly, "but any man with half his sanity can tell you lied to me. We will see each other again, Tsuberov." Tsuberov sneered at Zechs' retreating back and closed the curtains. The coachman seemed to take that as his cue to continue, for the coach took off almost immediately.

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An hour later it was full dark. Four torches lit the coach on each corner as it passed through the forest road that would lead straight to the Sank/Roma border. The men on horse back who made up Tsuberov's escort guarded the coach from the front and back. Some of the men seemed half asleep on their horses and tugged at their cloaks like blankets to keep warm against the occasional soft breeze. A few others more alert, carried torches but if not sleepy, seemed just as bored as the others.

Two dark figures watched from half a mile ahead, nearly disappearing into the shadows with their black cloaks. One approached his companion after untying their horses from the trees when he could finally see the coach. "Do you have it?"

 

The shorter one reached into his cloak and pulled out a small bag. "Right here."

 

The other nodded. "Do it fast. We want to surprise them and leave quickly."

The shorter one got to his knees in front of a few bushes, pulling back his hood only enough to see the coach better. He reached into his cloak again and pulled out a sling shot. Loading the small bag onto it, he took aim and shot it towards the coach. The small bag flew past the guards unnoticed and into one of the torches next to the coach door. The cloaked figure kneeling on the ground grinned and pulled his hood forward again, "perfect."

----------

Duo leaned against the wall of the coach, sleepily. Tsuberov was writing something into a little booklet by candle light and his body guard was watching Duo more intently than his master. Duo had been glad when he'd put the knife away but his continuous staring was just as uncomfortable. Under any other circumstance he would've just allowed himself to fall asleep but he couldn't. He didn't trust any of the other occupants of the coach enough to do something like that.

He shifted absently and a small twinge of pain in his neck reminded him of the wound. His hand lifted to inspect it. It wasn't bleeding anymore but there was more dried blood on his skin than he was comfortable with. Duo rubbed at it and his hand came away rust colored. He groaned and wiped it on his robes.

 

"Why don't you just heal it?"

 

Duo turned to the body guard who had not spoken for hours, incredulously. "What?"

 

The man frowned, "You're a Healer aren't you? Why don't you just heal it and be rid of it?"

Tsuberov looked up from his writings. "I would suspect it's for the same reason he hasn't called the entire natural world to his aid yet. The pirate captain told me that they took him from a quarantined village on Asia Minor. I assume he was offering his services to the people there." he paused, "The captain also told me he called and was later forced to calm a hurricane. An act which caused him to sleep for two days."

Duo didn't look at either of them. He didn't know what to say to that, mainly because it was the truth. Tsuberov however, wasn't finished. He motioned to a candle, "By what little I know of Ecomancers I'd say he's burnt out. If I put out this candle right now and ordered him to re-light it with only his power, he wouldn't be able to." Tsuberov grinned at Duo's displeasure, "isn't that right?" He didn't answer and Tsuberov sat back as if satisfied, "I didn't think so."

Duo glued his gaze to the wall defiantly in the face of Tsuberov's smugness. The pompous inbred was only half right. It was true that he was burnt out, that much he'd admit- at least inwardly- but that had nothing to do with why he couldn't heal himself. The reason was simply that what he could do to others, he couldn't do to himself. The thought wasn't reassuring but Duo wasn't willing to be charitable with any information regardless of what it was, so he kept quiet.

The body guard looked at his master with understanding, "and all this time I thought the pirates had been keeping him under control with Draconian herbs." Duo's gaze shot towards the man in alarm.

 

Tsuberov dismissed the idea, not noticing Duo's reaction. "It's well known that anything Draconian-grown is toxic, almost poisonous to Ecomancers but those herbs are too expensive for pirates to buy from the Burning Leaf and then simply keep in stock for no reason. They hadn't expected to find an Ecomancer on the sister continent at all. The pirates were lucky he was in the condition he was in."

Duo folded his arms over his chest and let them continue talking about him as if he weren't there. It annoyed the hell out of him on some level but he decided to ignore them instead of doing something that would result in him being on the receiving end of that knife again. That's when he first noticed it. The scent... no, smell. He hadn't noticed it the last few minute's but now it was unmistakable. It was the smell of burning herbs.

Duo raised a hand over his nose and mouth. Now that he had noticed it, that awful smell was overpowering. He was getting nauseous. His hand tightened over his mouth when he gagged with the sudden urge to throw up. His eyes were watering and he leaned back in his seat trying to take deep breaths but only succeeding in breathing more of it in.

The body guard looked at him somewhat alarmed, "What the hell's wrong with you??" Duo was taking deep shuddering breaths and his eyes were drooping closed.

 

Tsuberov sat up, finally noticing what was happening, "what's going on?! What's wrong with him?!" he demanded.

 

The body guard shook his head and began scooting away from him, thoughts of the plague running through his mind. "I don't know, my Lord..." Tsuberov paused suddenly noticing the small underlying scent in the coach. It was the pleasantly sweet smell of burning herbs.

His eyes widened. `Could it be?? Could the Burning Leaf have caught up with me to rob me of my new slave?!' Tsuberov looked at Duo and mused that it was very possible. Every member of the Burning Leaf in the village had known an Ecomancer was on the pirate ship and if they had been watching him... "Damn it! Stop! Stop the coach!" He yelled. The coachman outside heard his command and the coach slowed to a stop. That was the last Duo remembered, when the herbs became too much for him and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

----------

Outside, the coach stopped only a few yards away from the two cloaked figures hiding in the bushes. The taller one pushed the left side of his cloak over his shoulder so he would have no trouble un-sheathing the sword at his waist. His companion whispered, "Ready?" The taller nodded and took off for the road. With a swish of his cloak, the other took off after him.

Un-sheathing his weapon, the first cloaked figure made a break for the coach while his slightly shorter companion lagged behind. Tsuberov's escort, were a moment in reacting, caught off guard but it only lasted a minute before they were dismounting and sounding the alert. A minute however, was all the tall one needed. He ran passed open ground, to the coach and swung the door open. The body guard inside, instantly got between the cloaked figure and his master.

 

Tsuberov got up and when he saw the Burning Leaf emblem on the other's black cloak his eyes widened. "I have come only for the Ecomancer. Do not get in my way and I won't kill you both." said the hooded man unemotionally.

Tsuberov's greed managed to overcome is initial fear, "No! He is mine! I bought him for my slave and he is mine to do with as I please!" he argued stubbornly.

 

The hooded figure still half outside, raised his sword at Tsuberov as if the man between them didn't matter. "I'm afraid not. He is ours to do with as *we* please. We shall bring justice to the Spirit of the Earth by ridding the world of one more servant of the Evil One. (3) Step aside and be grateful of our mercy in sparring your life, nobleman. Those who give Ecomancers shelter from justice are not usually so lucky." Tsuberov swallowed and nodded.

 

Still pointing his sword at them, the hooded figure bent down and grabbed Duo around the waist one handed. He managed to drag his unconscious form to the front of the coach when Tsuberov, not willing to believe this was happening, suddenly stood and yelled out. "Guards! Guards!"

 

The face under the hood grinned. "They can't help you." Tsuberov looked at him even more frightened.

He hadn't heard a battle outside. He'd heard the alarm sound but after that, nothing. What on earth had happened to his escort?! "I suggest you not concern yourself with anything right now other than staying inside this coach until we leave. You are an accomplice to a servant of the Evil Spirit. That alone is warrant enough for death."

 

Tsuberov put a shaking hand against the side of the coach and slid down to his seat, nodding. The hooded figure looked at his body guard, pointing the sword at him and the man also sat down, glaring. Satisfied, the cloaked figure sheathed his weapon, lifted Duo into his arms and got out of the coach, slamming the door shut behind him.

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Outside, the second hooded figure stood where his companion had left him, a statue of concentration. His hands were raised to either sides of the coach where all of the guards were frozen in place. Some had been caught while dismounting and were frozen awkwardly parallel to their horses. Other's frozen in mid-charge and still others unsheathing their weapons.

The taller one ran from the coach to his companion with Duo in his arms and looked around at all the guards who were perfectly still. "Will they stay this way after we leave?" he asked.

 

"Only for five minutes." He said with exhaustion tainting his voice.

 

The taller nodded, "By that time we'll be long gone. Let's go." The shorter took a deep breath and lowered his arms. The guardsmen were completely still.

They ran into the trees where their horses were waiting, un-tethered and ready to leave. The taller walked to the horse without a saddle and handed Duo over to his accomplice while he mounted it. His companion helped him get Duo onto the horse and then ran to mount his own horse. The taller figure wrapped an arm tightly around Duo's waste as he leaned against his chest in his sleep and grabbed the reins with his other hand.

 

"Are you ready?" The shorter one called from his horse.

He nodded and took off down a forest trail, the other cloaked figure close behind. As they rode through the trails the wind picked up and blew their hoods back. They allowed the hoods to stay down now that there weren't any people around to see their faces. Quatre rode up next to Trowa's horse and grinned at him, "He's going to be really mad we used those herbs, you know."

 

Trowa allowed a small smile to touch his lips, "he shouldn't have separated from us then."

Quatre could only shake his head and smile. He was overjoyed that they'd been able to rescue him and said so. Trowa nodded, pulling the sleeping Duo a little closer protectively. "So am I. It would've been much more difficult if they'd reached Sank."

 

Quatre agreed, "So where do we go from here?" he asked.

 

"South to Roma's capitol. If we ride all night we should make it by morning." Trowa replied, trailing off slightly at the end.

Quatre frowned, "There's something on your mind Trowa. What is it?"

 

Trowa didn't reply for a moment but then, "He's going to be sixteen in a few days."

 

Quatre looked ahead, nodding. "Yes. I know the implications of that." he said seriously. "This is the year that the entire continent will change. King Barton must be well aware of this and his assassins might chance getting bolder. We should probably take Duo to see the Oracle after we reach Oz."

Trowa shook his head, "that's not all I'm worried about."

 

Quatre raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

 

Trowa spared him a brief glance before shifting his eyes back to the trail. "Quatre, you were sixteen when you were cursed. With your bond to Duo, we don't know how that'll affect him."

 

Quatre almost missed ducking under a branch when Trowa said that and immediately looked at him, alarmed. "I hadn't thought of that..."

Quatre looked at Duo worriedly then. Despite having felt Duo's awful reaction to the herbs he could feel him now in his mind, sleeping peacefully. The invisible connection between the two of them that had always been warm and reassuring, felt as if it had been there forever. It was hard to believe a power that could be so comforting was a threat now. "I hope the Oracle will have good news for us when we arrive."

----------

Treize Khushrenada, King of the Roma Empire, sat on a bench in the palace gardens, staring up at the stars in the sky. The past few days had been slightly rainy but the skies were finally clear enough for stars to shine. "Strange weather we have when hurricanes in the distance vanish suddenly..." he mused absently.

 

Zechs walked up the garden path and knelt before Treize. "We were able to confirm there was an Ecomancer on the pirate ship, your Highness. Unfortunately, they managed to get away from us with a portion of their slaves before we could capture them."

Treize frowned, more at the first thing Zechs had said than the last. "And where is the Ecomancer now?" he asked.

 

Zechs shook his head, "He wasn't among those liberated, so the Ecomancer was either sold before we could get there or the pirates left with him." he paused, "Lord Tsuberov was there, as well."

 

Treize nodded as if it didn't surprise him and stood up. "Tomorrow we leave for the Sank Kingdom. I have spoken with the leaders of the surrounding countries and we agree that we must all speak with King Barton personally."

"Your Highness..?" Zechs asked at little surprised.

 

Treize looked at him, "It will soon be the sixteenth anniversary of the fall of Vistaria and we have seen no movement of the Prophecy whatsoever. I'm interested to know how King Barton feels about this... or if he may be hiding something from us."

 

Zechs got to his feet and seemed to understand, "You don't believe the Prince died in the attack as he claimed."

 

"No, I don't." Treize replied. He began to walk past Zechs when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

The only rose in a rose bush across from the bench was withering away. Treize knelt down and raised a hand to it. "Talk of this male Ecomancer the pirates had intrigues me. It would not be a surprise if that were the reason Tsuberov crossed our border unannounced. Male Ecomancer's are so rare, after all..."

 

A glow began to emanate from Treize's hand. The greenish-blue glow quickly solidified into something like liquid electricity and spilled from his hand onto the rose. The rose straightened, rejuvenated more beautiful than it was before and Treize leaned forward to take in the sweet scent. "Please look into the matter Zechs." Zechs nodded, bowing one last time before turning back to the palace.

-------

(1) I found another way to spell his name! Joy... If it's wrong then I'm just leaving it. You know who I'm talking about anyways, ne?
(2) I don't know if that's exactly what it's called but I tried.
(3) Makes more sense if you read the definition of the Burning Leaf below.


(Not in ABC order)
Glossary:

1. Bonded/ or Bonds: Bonds are links of power created between an Ecomancer and a Celestial for there own protection. The clairvoyance of a Celestial and the power of an Ecomancer serve to help each other. These bonds create semi-weak telepathic links between the two bonded. Presumably, these bonds can only be done between two people. They are life long. There is no known way to undo them.

2. The Gifted: Made up of psychics, telepaths, seer's, telekinetic's and ecomancers, they are any man or woman who can speak to/use the power of the Three Great Spirits. The Gifted come in a great variety but ecomancers are rare and for reasons not understood, are mainly female. A gifted who can wield the power of the Spirit of the Earth cannot wield that of the Spirit of Outerspace and vise versa.

3. The Celestials: Psychics, telepaths, telekinetic and seers. They are those among the Gifted who can touch the Spirit of Outerspace and use it's power. Their symbol is the Star.

4. Ecomancers: Any man or woman who can touch the Spirit of the Earth and wield it's elemental powers, either just one or all four. If an Ecomancer can wield all four basic elemental powers he/she is granted the Healer's Touch. The Symbol of an Ecomancer is a half turned rose leaf. Healer's are recognized by their white gold arm guards.

5. Elemental Powers: Governed by the Spirit of the Earth: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire.

6. Healer's Touch: Power gifted to an Ecomancer who can control all four elemental powers. Considered to be advanced form ecomancy, this is the ability to heal illness or injury by using one's own life energy, or `chi'. Healer's are recognized by their white gold arm guards.

7. Three Great Spirits: The three spirits who have control over the world: the Spirit of the Earth, the Spirit of Outerspace and the Human Spirit. The first two are the Spirit Creators of the gifted. They are life givers and spirits that help bring peace and fertility to the world. The last is the dormant Spirit Creator of the non-gifted.

8. Two Great Spirits: Only referring to the Spirit of the Earth and the Spirit of Outerspace.

9. Oracle: Title given to the oldest and most powerful seer. Unlike the other Gifted, the power of seer can be transferred from one person to another if old enough. This is how a new Oracle is generally appointed. With the position of Oracle comes immortality. The Oracle cannot die until she/he passes on the old power.

10. Seers: One of the four major forms of the Celestials power, (aside from the Psychics, Telepaths and Telekinetics). It is the power to see into the future spontaneously or via an object. The power comes to the seer at random and theoretically cannot be controlled, not even by the Oracle.

11. The Burning Leaf: A hate group with a near religious dedication to the eradication of all Ecomancers. Regarded as radicals, it is their belief that Ecomancers are actually followers of the Evil One in disguise. According to their beliefs, Ecomancers are rapists of the Spirit of the Earth who tap into it's power through the Evil Spirit and in turn weaken it. They believe that Ecomantic Healers are the most powerful followers of the Evil One who will rob a person of their soul while pretending to heal them. Their hatred toward Ecomancers runs deep enough to lead to acts of severe violence and/or murder. Followers of the Burning Leaf dislike of the Celestials almost as much because they will protect and support Ecomancers. Few Ecomancers will travel without the protection of a Celestial with them. The symbol for this cult is the burning rose leaf for obvious reasons.

12. Five Kingdoms: Sank, Vistaria, Roma, Nishi and Higashi. (Nishi actually meaning west and Higashi actually meaning east).

13. Asia Major: Largest continent where all life began. Ruled by the Five Kingdoms.

14. Asia Minor: Smallest of the two continents. Colonized on the east coast almost completely by the Roma Empire.

15. Council of Elders: Made up of the only six known Healers in existence and the six most powerful Celestials, this group of twelve elders is the high council that rules over all Gifted in every country. They set the laws that both protect and keep the Gifted in check. Working together with the rulers of each of the five kingdoms, they are responsible for looking after all matters concerned with the Gifted. The Council of Elders authority is second only to the Oracle who is also a member. The council resides in Torelle, the capitol of Eco Vera.

16. Shinigami: AKA the Evil One. A loner Spirit who rules over the nether world and the dead. He is a separate, lesser entity outside the control of the Three Great Spirits. Although many people believe that he is the embodiment of all evil and the bringer of death, destruction and chaos, Shinigami is a neutral spirit that does as he wishes and answers to none of the other Three Spirits.

17. True Bonded (Legend): Although any Celestial can bond with any Ecomancer, each time one gifted is born there is one other gifted out there that they are destined to bond with. Two people achieving all the powers a gifted can, the four elementals or the four psychic-related powers, and bonding together can give them a status/power alike to that of a demi-god.

Place Names:

1. Vistaria: Empire from which Duo comes from. Fell to Sank 16 years earlier. (Except in prologue).

2. Sank: Enemy kingdom of Vistaria ruled by King Barton.

3. Torelle: Capital city of Eco Vera.

4. Eco Vera: Neutral no mans land between Sank and Vistaria. An enchanted sacred ground where Priests, Ecomancers and all other Gifted come once a year to seek peace and unity with the two great spirits. Place where all Gifted power is enhanced.

5. Draconian Desert: Desolate no mans land north of Eco Vera in which contact with the two great spirits is completely cut off.

6. Belvai: City just south of Eco Vera within the Roma Empire. It is where the Oracle lives.

7. Roma: Country south of Sank ruled by Emperor Khushrenada.

8. Oz: Capitol city of the Roma Empire.

List of who has what power:

Duo Maxwell:
Ecomancer: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire. Healer

Quatre R. Winner:
Celestial: Psychic, Telekinetic, Seer (Oracles gift).

Heero Yuy:
Celestial: Psychic, Telekinetic.

Dorothy Catalonia:
Celestial: Seer, Psychic.

Treize Khushrenada:
Ecomancer: Earth, Fire.

Silvia Noventa:
Celestial: Psychic, Telepathic, Telekinetic, Seer (Oracles gift).