Snow looked at the crystal he held in his hands and took a deep breath. It was larger than the others he’d seen ZaiWin¹Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). and ZenTar use, and it glowed with an intense silver, pearly light.

He had held on to the crystal the entire night, focusing in sending his energy into it, commanding it to remain trapped inside its delicate structure.

“See it like a box without an opening,” MenTar²Literally men (lake) + tar (wind) had told him when he had sneaked into his bedroom to conclude their previous conversation, later the night before. “You have to focus on sending your energy inside it, through its walls, and command it to remain inside it and not dissipate. I know it sounds difficult, and it will probably take you some time to figure it out. But, after you’ve done it times enough and it becomes fully charged, it will emanate an energetic footprint similar to yours. Which means that you’ll be able to leave it behind in your place. If the Calzai³Literally cal (bright) + zai (blade), or Blade of Light. It can be translated in common language as General, one of military leaders of the Empire. Each Province has it’s own Calzai. tries to feel where you are, he will detect the crystal’s presence and think that it’s you. At least that’s the theory,” he had added with a complicated, assure expression.

“How do I know when it’s fully charged?”

“It will glow. Normally it should glow in the color of your daitai⁴Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power.. But you must be careful. You have to try your best to send all your energy into it. A piece of everything you are, do you understand? For example, if it were me, I would have to send a lot of wind energy into it, but I would also have to add a bit of fire, preferably in the same proportions that these elements dwell inside me. Do you understand?” Snow had nodded, looking at the crystal in his hands. It had looked very much like a simple, pointy piece of glass. “Don’t worry if you’re not able to do it right away. It took me two weeks to get the hang of it.”

But Snow didn’t have two weeks. Who knew where he would be in two weeks? Where they would decide to take him next? He couldn’t lose the opportunity that RyuXin⁵Literally ryu (dark) + xin (rain) had offered him. And, if possible, he also wanted to talk with him and his little sister again. He wanted to hear more about the Tien’Elhar⁶Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language. that roamed the world free, like everyone else.

No! He had to do it as soon as possible. He had wanted that crystal to start glowing preferably by next morning. And so he’d spent the entire night holding on to it, sending his energy inside it, carefully going through each and every one of his daitai, the golden ones and the cold ones. He knew that, contrary to MenTar’s instructions, the crystal wouldn’t hold all of him. He did not dare touch the other daitai on his back, the ones that were similar to the markings that covered those beasts' distorted bodies. And so he could only hope that, since they were basically inactive, the lack of a bit of their energy wouldn’t change his energetic footprint all that much. To his relief and satisfaction, his efforts had been widely compensated. And there it was, glowing in his hands, as if it were some precious magical jewel.

Looking around the bedroom for a place to hide it, he decided to tuck the crystal under the mattress of his bed, hoping that that would tell ZaiWIn that he was still in his room, still asleep. With a second thought, he froze the door-handle shut. That would gain him some extra time, should they decide to check on him.

Making his way to the window, he looked down, studying its height once more. True, he was on a second floor, but it wasn’t as high as other second floors he’d been in. And, luckily, someone had pilled a bunch of flax seed sacs against to the wall, right bellow his window. He’d seen them the day before and, as he’d hoped, no one had come to collect them so far.

Making sure his cloak was securely tied around his neck, Snow took a deep breath for courage and opened the window. Cold wind brushed through his face making him squint. Slipping both legs outside wasn’t that difficult but, turning around, so that he could hold on the the window ledge and slowly lower himself, took some work and sweating. Once he was ready, he slid down the window, hanging only by his hand and looked down. The not so high from before suddenly looked higher than he’d expected, but now it was too late to give his escape plan any second thoughts. There was no way he’d be able to pull himself up again and so, closing his eyes, he simply let go.

The loud thud his body made as he fell on the stack of sacs stole his breath away, and then he was rolling down the pile, completely wrapped in his cloak, until he finally reached the ground. For a moment he just laid there, trying to catch his breath, feeling his own body in search of any pain that would tell him that he'd gotten hurt. His shoulder ached, he concluded with a grimace, and so did his knee. But nothing he couldn’t handle, he quickly determined, trying to unwrap himself from his cloak.

Getting up, he quickly covered his head and looked up at his window.

He’d already silently said all his farewells the night before, knowing he’d probably never see any of them again. He felt guilty that he was leaving without telling MenTar, when he’d specifically asked him to accompany him. He felt sorry he hadn’t been able to see VinWei⁷Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) one last time, after all she had done for him. And he couldn’t help feeling sad that, even after he’d tried his best, he still hadn’t been able to reach ZaiWin’s expectations for him. He felt sad that they hadn’t been able to understand each another better, that he couldn’t be anything else but a heavy weight in his life. Even though he had always scared him a bit, Snow had come to actually admire him, even more so after what MenTar had told him the night before. He would have liked to visit his Province, he thought with a sigh. Know the people he did his best to care for and protect. They were truly fortunate.

Turning his back on the inn, holding his cloak so it wouldn't fall, he quickly ran away from that place. He had to hurry, he told himself. The day was almost dawning and ZaiWin always woke up early. If the crystal didn’t work, he wouldn’t have much time.

Running as fast as he could, he passed by the familiar streets, completely deserted at such early hour. He would never see them again either, he concluded, the cold air freezing his nose, making it hard to breathe.

Reaching the old bridge, he didn’t even slow down, his feet resonating against the wood. He had lived beneath that bridge for six years. He had begged for anything others could spare them right there, leaning against the railing. A few steps ahead was where he’d been beaten up to an inch of his life. And then he was in the forest, surrounded by tall, shadowy trees. To his left, a few steps into those bushes, were the best berry shrubs of the entire forest, their berries the sweatiest and juiciest of all. Down the path he was running on was another river, its waters much calmer and nicer than the one in the village. Lots of different edible mushrooms grew on its damp banks every spring.

Turning right, he ran through the trees towards the small cave RyuXin hand mentioned. Like everything in the surrounding area, he had known of it as well. He had taken shelter from the bad weather inside it, once or twice, when he had dared venture into the forest in the middle of winter, desperate to find anything to eat. Burrowing into the face of a hill, it had probably been dug by hunters to store their prey, while they hunted for more wild animals. He had never seen anyone use it, though.

Gasping for air, he only slowed down when its round entrance came into view, a warm, yellow light pouring from inside it. He was risking everything, he knew. After all. he didn’t know anything about that RyuXin kid. He may very well be deceiving him, trying to lead him towards a trap.

Silvareiel

I wish you loooots of luck, little Snow *worries* ???