1 Chapter One

A chiming could be heard in the canyon cliffside of Yanfeng Mountain, heavy wind blowing through the cracks and holes that were both hidden and invisible. The different sizes of the holes made different noises and so, many people regarded the mountain as the singing mountain. Yanfeng mountain has steep cliffs, its holes are due to when there was a river running through the area causing some of the cliffside to erode which created the canyon. Thunder could be heard miles from the canyon, and if you looked closely at it you could see two women climbing. Foreboding clouds had them hurrying to the safety of the top of the cliff that they were climbing, it was said that this canyon was a climber's paradise or a kind of challenge for those brave at heart. The Thourian government had declared that it was the climbing season for the area, people had to sign wavers before climbing in case they fell to their deaths. This helped stop families suing the government since they chose to do a dangerous thing, many people disliked the idea of having a season or climbing at all.

The sound of something screeching in the air sent goosebumps over the girls, it sounded like a dinosaur on the hunt or calling for it's pack. Various birds scattered in the sky at the sound of it, this made the two girls quite nervous. "Fu An." Ma Wei yelled; the wind caused her to yell. "We should hurry so that we can get to the top." She continued, her friend nodded and gave her a thumbs up. It was better to hurry and be safe than try to fight off anything on the hunt, sweat dripped from the two girls faces as they concentrated on their climbing. Ma Wei's face flushed as she climbed, her face showing her happiness. Black hair whipped around back and forth as the wind played with it, Ma Wei's bright blue eyes showing determination as she climbed one step at a time. Neither Ma Wei, nor Fu An were bulky masculine women. Instead they were lean and fit, keeping themselves toned with vigorous workouts and local climbing. For a moment Ma Wei stopped and looked at the different colored layers of the cliffside, and she thought about how many dinosaur bones they could find on the mountain if they dug into it. Frowning at herself she didn't really care for the idea, but that was because they wouldn't be able to climb anymore if they did that. Her concentration slipped a bit as she thought about it and nearly fell, her friend screamed at her to be careful and Ma Wei blushed.

"Do you need a break?" Fu An yelled at her friend, worry in her eyes. Ma Wei shook her head; they were so close to the top of the canyon. Food and breaks could wait until they were done, steeling her mind she began to climb again, this time with a slightly faster pace. Fu An smiled as she continued as well, the girls had a lot of stamina. "Warbling beasts are getting closer, we should hurry." Ma Wei yelled, looking around for a moment she didn't see any, but she could hear them communicate. Warbling beasts are large predatory birds that were almost thirty feet long and 2 sets of wings where their shoulders are and two near their hips, though the set near the hips were slightly smaller. They had a long tail that came to a spade shape where feathers helped them navigate the sky, they were beautiful creatures but also dangerous ones. If you were to really describe them, they would have a eastern dragon like body, long and masculine but a raptor like face and a crane like neck with feline like eyes. The Warbling beasts had four tiger-like eyes that were pointed on each end giving them a fierce look, Ma Wei involuntarily shuddered thinking about them. It was like they were ancient dinosaurs that no one could capture. The thought was both ferocious and scary, she shook her head.

Perhaps at one-point people had tamed them, perhaps they even learned to ride them too. She thought that perhaps you had to have them as hatchlings and raise them with love and care, she figured you'd have to bond with them before you could ride them. Adults tried to kill people as it was, their fleshy legs were like steel, their claws were sharp and helped them kill prey easily. Ma Wei wanted one herself, though she had never investigated getting one. There was a lot of stuff that was involved in getting them and raising them, she smiled to herself. Maybe she should just go ahead and do it, shaking her head she sighed. No matter what, there where more important things in life. "Not much farther now, we are almost their Ma Wei!" Fu An yelled, Ma Wei nodded and smiled up at her giving her a thumbs up. Dust fell from the very top of the canyon, it dropped onto the girls causing them to sneeze and shake their heads. They wiped their faces and laughed, spitting out the dirt and dust. That was simply a small hazard in climbing, mentally shrugging it off they continued their climbing. Soon wind began bullying the girls who were tired, pushing and pulling them as they clung tightly to the cliffside. An ominous feeling washed over them as they looked at each other for a moment, ignoring the feeling they finished climbing the rest of the way.

Their breathing was heavy as they reached the top of the canyon, smiling and laughing at each other. They pulled through the rough climb; Ma Wei was panting as she spoke. "We made it." Her tone was happy as she placed a hand on her good friend's shoulder, Fu An nodded and looked down the canyon before standing up. She looked around for a moment, the top of the cliff was a rather pretty sight. Green plants and large trees surrounded them, a nice look for a finished climb. It was like a gem found in the desert, or a water oasis of sorts. The girls dusted themselves off, their shoes where covered in a rusty looking dirt and they both sighed. Their clothing stuck to their figures as they stretched and yawned, the girls took off their jackets and shook them out a little bit. Neither cared about fashion or how they looked disheveled now, they had finally climbed the mountain's canyon! Ma Wei was an average looking woman; she could be pretty if she tried harder, but she didn't consider skin care or makeup and all the other stuff her age group was interested in these days. At sixteen years old she was already self-sufficient and had her own job, in fact she worked with her good friend Fu An.

Ma Wei's light skin color had people calling her a natural beauty, though her features were somewhat man-like from what she could see in herself. She had pretty eyes and full lips with a straight nose, people who meet her think she's just a pretty boy because she had an androgynous body. Even her good friend Fu An was someone who had a fuller body than she did, sometimes people asked her where her boobs where and she would just sigh. Her co-workers began calling her flat board due to her chest, she felt upset about it but even when she voiced her concern it didn't change anything. She looked naturally fierce though, her eyes looked like they were carved out of the sky. Ma Wei slowed her breathing as she thought of this, her friend was taking selfies with her phone and for a moment she felt a little jealous of Fu An. Suddenly she shook her head and chided herself, there was no reason to be jealous of a friend over looks. Fu An Bounced next to her and snapped her tired look, thankfully she smiled in time. Her friend was so outgoing and friendly, something caught Ma Wei's eye as she looked around.

Glowing orbs were floating around the entrance of what looked like a person made road, she looked at her friend for a moment and smiled. "I want to check that place over there." Ma Wei pointed towards the orbs; her friend frowned for a moment not sure what Ma Wei was looking at. Nodding she smiled at her friend, she became excited. "Alright, let's go explore." Fu An exclaimed, Ma Wei smiled and shook her head. She was so easily excitable; ah she didn't want to know what life was like without her best friend. 'Finally, time to go home…' Fu An thought to herself as she gazed at Ma Wei, her friend didn't notice her staring. 'I wonder what has changed.' She thought once more, the orbs of the great tree were guiding them to it. Curiously Ma Wei ventured farther and deeper into the forest, the tree in the middle began pulsing light flowing up and around the tree. She watched the lights end at the edge of the willow like tree, what a fascinating tree. Her eyes flicked upwards and she reached out to an orb, the pulsing tree seemed to call out to Ma Wei though she wasn't sure how. She felt a need to be near it, touch it.

The small orb made Ma Wei smile, it was soft like a small cat with fluffy fur, though it didn't have any fur but more of a mist that surrounded it. Perhaps that's what clouds felt like, she watched as the small orb floated away to the tree. A small smile on her face, Fu An smiled at the sight of her friend having fun. "It's so beautiful here, how come we never heard of this place before?" Ma Wei questioned Fu An for a moment, not aggressively but in a more curiously distracted way. She wondered who was keeping this place to themselves, it was so romantic. Ma Wei smiled and giggled as a couple of the orbs caressed her cheek, her hand touched one of the white trees and she moved her hand up and down. It felt slick, but not slimy. Kind of like marble, her eyes widened a little bit as the tree glowed the same as the willow-like tree. "What kind of trees do you think these are?" She looked at her friend Fu An, her friend shook her head. She didn't know either. It seemed to purr under her touch and while Ma Wei was deeply fascinated by it, Fu An knew that it meant that she had gotten her master right. This made Fu An smile, years of being friends with Ma Wei was the right thing. "You are so unromantic my friend." Fu An Puffed her cheeks out in a pout to that, Ma Wei Laughed.

Removing her hand from the purring tree she walked back to the blue-white tree that looked like a mutant willow and touched that too, despite it's looks it felt like a normal tree. She was a bit confused but didn't say anything, she saw her friend blushing and looked at her questioningly. "Stop teasing me." Fu An said with a small pout, her cheeks deflated and Ma Wei nodded. She turned back to the tree she was touching; she could see the veins in it. "What kind of tree are you?" she questioned it, though it stayed silent, only the sounds of its branches and leaves moving could be heard. Ma Wei looked at it and smiled, the leaves began glowing a golden-white color and a stream of light came from the small orb as it touched the tree, the orb became one with the tree. This was interesting, was this a predatory tree of some kind? The more Ma Wei thought about what she seen, the earth beneath her began to move and she held her breath for a moment before looking at her friend with a panicked look. "We should leave now." Her heart raced as she grabbed her friends' hand, Fu An held still for a moment and looked a bit worried but walked with Ma Wei. A second tremor shook as rocks and dirt came loose from the area, trees creaked and groaned causing Ma Wei's heart to skip a beat.

She grabbed onto Fu An and hugged her, tears rolling down her eyes as she closed them. "I love you my friend." Ma Wei spoke, they held onto each other for support and Fu An nodded her own love to her friend. The sound of another cracking came from the ground and a chunk of dirt began moving away from Fu An, Ma Wei pushed her friend to safety and began to fall down the newly opened canyon. "Ma Wei!" Fu An screamed as she reached out to catch her friend's hand, they brushed hands but missed and she watched as Ma Wei fell into the deep abyss below. Ma Wei calmed her heart, though tears came from her eyes, a smile was on her face as she looked at Fu An. Her good friend was saved, that was all she could have hoped for. Ma Wei knew that once she hit the ground she would die, finally she closed her eyes as she felt the wind blowing around her. The sound of the wind rushing by her was a bit scary, but she did not open her eyes, electricity sparked around her and she felt a bit of pain course through her body. She screamed for a moment before landing heavily on the ground, it took the wind from her as she gasped for air. She didn't die, she cried.

It was cold, so cold. She moved a little bit, her hands hit liquid. Why was she wet? Ma Wei finally gathered courage and opened her eyes; she was in shallow water. She coughed as she breathed in air, her body had naturally stopped breathing in the water. Liquid came out of her lungs and she gasped for water, there was no one around as she scanned the area. She propped herself up with her hands as she tried to sit up, coughing and gasping for breath. She shook from the cold air that blew over the small river she had ended up in, how did she get here? She didn't remember that there was a river under the cliff, and for a moment she looked up and around her. Snow covered a lot of the area she could see, she shivered as she took it all in. Her breath turning into a small puff of vapor, her mind was blank for a moment as she pulled her knees to her head and she sat there in a fetal position. She wasn't going to waste this second chance at life, she had to find her good friend Fu An. A humming caught Ma Wei's attention and she looked straight at the blue tree that she had seen before, curious about it she shakily stood up and walked to it. Coughing a couple times as she did, her arms wrapped around her more for comfort than warmth at this point.

The blue tree simply hummed as she neared, a small hand reaching out she placed it on the tree. The cool blue tree caused her to gasp a little bit as she felt a cold feeling wrap itself around her arm and spread around her body, she panicked a little bit but couldn't move her hand or body. A warm cloak appeared on her; the cloak seemed to be made from fur. The fur around the collar was white, it seemed to line each side of the front of the cloak as well as the bottom and the wrists. Its cloth was a black coloration with a gold design of a dragon chasing a phoenix, she wasn't sure what the symbolism meant but she didn't really care at that time. She was wearing something warm; a small smile came to her as she kept her hand on the tree. "Where have you brought me?" She questioned it; her tone still shaky from the cold. Ma Wei became tired and lay in front of the great tree, she was in a crevice that she found, and she sighed in comfort. It would be good to sleep before she explored, after all she was in a new area. Her sleep was peaceful, while she was asleep the spirit tree broke off a branch and wrapped itself around her wrist leaving behind a blue jade bangle, the tree itself was inside the bangle and so the blue tree she lay under was now a normal willow.

Ma Wei slept until she could hear something, her head buzzed a little bit before she opened her eyes. At first, she only saw blurred things but then she shook her head and yawned quietly, once her eyes adjusted, she looked around. The bangle on her hand urged her to hide, though she wasn't sure how the bangle was talking to her. In fact, she didn't really notice the bangle now and instead stood from where she was and hid around the tree. She moved as the few people did, being as quiet as she could. "What does the master want us to patrol this area for? It's not like someone's going to trespass here." The person spoke, male from the sounds of it. Ma Wei broke into a cold sweat. - Master… Master we need to leave now – something spoke to her. She looked around for a moment but saw nothing, she scratched her head and the bangle hit her head lightly. – M-Master, don't jostle me. – the voice called out again, she looked at her wrist for a moment and stared at the blue tree like bangle. When did this get on her? – Finally, master you see me. – The bangle glowed as it spoke each word. Ma Wei's mind went blank for a moment as she stared at the piece of jade, ehh? "M-Me?" She questioned quietly, glancing around to be sure no one saw her. The bangle turned a light pink color, it swirled with the dark blue.

Ma Wei was curious and smiled at it, the voice was familiar. "Where are we?" She couldn't help but ask the bangle, her face was anxious as she waited and glanced around as she continued to hear the people walking around. They seemed to have gone a bit away from where she was and sat down to rest, her mind turned back to the bangle as it spoke again. – Master, you have finally come home. It has been a long wait for you to come back – The bangle spoke, Ma Wei didn't seem to understand and was looking at it questioningly. "Home?" She quietly questioned; the bangle gave a mhm noise. She didn't know where she was and looking at the bangle and her fur coat she simply sighed. Was this her home? For a moment she simply stood there and looked around, the snow-covered space was not familiar to her. "How can this be my home?" She looked at the bangle, it was all a bit overwhelming if she was honest. Had she died and been reborn? – Master, this world isn't like yours, you must learn to protect yourself here. – The bangle spoke, Ma Wei looked at it for a moment and her heart raced a little bit. – Do not worry master, I am here with you – the blue bangle spoke happily, Ma Wei questioned this but what could she do? She was already in the unknown world, perhaps an alternate universe?

"W-What do you mean by another world?" Ma Wei questioned, her tone still hushed in case the guards or whoever those men were would find her out. The bangle was silent for a moment before an orb that looked like earth appeared. – Master, you are here in this world. You must travel a great distance to get back to your family here. – there was a point of red light showing in the snowy region and they had to travel to a mild looking place which seemed to be halfway across their orb, Ma Wei simply looked at it with an open mouth as her mind went blank. How would she achieve this? Her brows furrowed as she continued looking at it, still listening to the jade bangle. "Its so far away…" Ma Wei complained quietly, the bangle made a hushing noise and Ma Wei became quiet. – We must leave now master; they are coming back and will find you. – Ma Wei nodded her head as she walked to another big tree and hid behind it, the sound of the men patrolling reached her ears which caused her to go faster and make a mistake by breaking a dead branch. Her heart beat fast as they turned towards the woods where she escaped to, they began walking towards her direction when a giant bear like creature crashed out of the woods.

The bear like creature was giant, it had spikes coming out of its shoulders and back much like that of a crocodile and it's face was similar to a cat's but the muzzle was longer and it had sabre like teeth on the top and bottom even tusks near the opening of it's mouth. The fur was thicker on its neck and shoulders, like a bison. Minglan stood there with her mouth open before she shook out of it, she rushed off letting them deal with the creature. "Do you know those people?" Ma Wei questioned as she walked with some speed, the bangle stayed silent. Perhaps it did not then, she looked around and climbed a small tree cursing herself from having just climbed the canyon. Her body was sore now, she sighed as she laid on a rather thick branch. Her head spun as she lay there, she closed her eyes for a moment and sighed again. Without thinking about the different worlds, she would just accept what was happening. It would be easier than trying to find out why this happened, she would be dead if she didn't come here. Perhaps it was her fate, she gave herself a nod and relaxed for a moment. Her sore body protesting to the movement she was making, she moved her wrist and looked at the bangle again. The voice that came from it was so familiar, a small smile came from her.

"What's your name?" She questioned the bangle; it gave a small giggle. – Master, you will be quite surprised. – it glowed a little bit, it gave Ma Wei a moment to adjust herself. – Master, I am Fu An, your good friend – Ma Wei looked at the bangle for a moment, confused and a little hurt. Her friend? Hadn't she saved Fu An? Was Fu An from this world too? Fu An sensed her silence and spoke again, her tone happy that she had her friend next to her again. – I am the Fu An you know of in the outer world, you don't have to be shy Master. – Fu An spoke, Ma Wei thought for a moment and nodded. – But Master, we aren't from that world. I was tasked to protect you and let you grow healthy by your mother, instead we were sent to an orphanage. – she spoke, the two girls grew up together. Ma Wei bit her bottom lip as tears began growing in her eyes, her wet eyes threatening to spill over. "T-Then where are we?" Ma Wei questioned, she wanted to know this world's name. The bangle began to glow a little bit at her question, though it hesitated to speak. – We are in master's birth world, the world of Andonia. - Fu an finally spoke, Ma Wei moved a little bit and cringed at the pain. Ma Wei thought about it for a while, and in a way, this was not surprising.

She remembered Fu An having a kind of magic, she had used it quite a few times in front of her. She thought that her friend was, perhaps, just a bit more special than other people. Kind of like the hero you read of in comics, sometimes she showed bits and pieces of her world to Ma Wei. But over the last sixteen years she was told that they were images faked by magic, perhaps Fu An wanted to save her from heart ache, in case she couldn't ever go back home. The sound of something moving caused them to be silent and alert, Ma Wei watched below and after a moment a sharp howl came from somewhere in the woods. This made Ma Wei slightly panic, something white could be seen moving forward and looking at her intently. She shivered a little bit as she looked at the creature, it rose onto its hind legs and almost reached her. "I-Im not tasty, don't eat me." Ma Wei spoke, the fear in her voice wasn't missed as the wolf snorted sniffing the air. - Master, be careful. Ice wolves are unpredictable. – Ma Wei heard her words and gave a small grunt acknowledging her friends' words, she reached down a little bit and waved her arm a little bit before something came out of her bangle.

A whole buffalo came out of it, the buffalo had a moon shaped marking on it. She looked at it for a moment, the dead body was fresh. Ma Wei was about to ask about that before the wolves began fighting over who was taking the buffalo back to their den, one of the wolves didn't fight. Instead it walked to her and smelled her again, opening it's mouth it grabbed her gently and carried her back to the den site leaving the others to fight over the dead carcass. She was unsure what was going to happen to her, she didn't dare move as she was in the giant wolf's mouth despite her fear. "Where are you taking me?" Her voice held a tone of fear and uncertainty, the wolf snorted and ignored her. Ma Wei pursed her lips for a moment, she felt that if she didn't startle the wolf, he would eventually let her go. Ma Wei was about to fall asleep when Fu An began to speak in a bit of a weary tone. – Master, I have found that we are in the Yoma realm. – Fu An began – This is called the eastern sea realm, there are five realms and four seas in this world. Let's try to get out of this. – Ma Wei nodded her head, a yawn escaping her mouth. Yoma realm… She wondered how long this wolf intended to travel for, Fu An's voice came out once more. – Master, I investigated the bestiary, Ice wolves are loyal creatures and would be able to defend their masters against formidable foes, if you can tame one that would help you on your journey. –

Ma Wei sighed a little bit, tame an ice wolf? These creatures were large enough to carry her around like a rag doll, how was she supposed to tame one? Thoughts of a puppy filled her mind, she had one once. A small white ball of fur, like the wolf carrying her. She smiled as she thought about that, her mother had gifted the puppy to her before she was cast out of their home. She didn't remember much about her mother after that though, she didn't even know where the puppy went or even if the puppy survived through out the years. She sighed and watched the forest pass her by, the smell of snow and saliva was thick in the air. It was accompanied by the smell of wet canine fur; she scrunched her face for a moment as she looked around. There were many caves here, and of course they had to be going towards the biggest cave she's ever seen. Was the wolf bringing her to its family to eat her? She panicked for a moment; a cold feeling went down her spine. The wolf dropped her on a large rock, she couldn't get off that without injuring herself. Not that her body cared to move at all, she winced a little as she moved her legs. Looking at the wolf for a moment she pouted a little bit, how rude.

"H-Hey… At least let me down." Ma Wei looked at the wolf, her voice fell on deaf ears. With a sigh she looked around, many wolves came out of their dens due to curiosity. Some puppies followed their parents though they shrank back as soon as a loud rumbling came from the giant cave, the sound of snarling and snapping could be heard along with a yelping noise. Ma Wei looked around at the large wolves in awe, they were truly beautiful creatures. Unique, their fur had dark blue areas along their backs and spines additionally on the darker blue sections they had crystal spikes coming from them. Most of their eyes were like red rubies, a wolf larger than the rest came out of the cave. It had a scar across it's left eye, a pink eye. Ma Wei thought that perhaps it was blind in that eye, the one good eye looked at everyone and then looked at her. She swallowed her nervousness and fear as it approached her, the creature lay down looking at her and Ma Wei wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Slowly she walked to the edge of the boulder and looked at the wolf lying there, with a smile she reached down and touched its fur. She tried to pet more but ended up falling and cutting herself on one of its crystals, the crystals on it began to grow and become sharp points.

The wolf stood up with her on it's back and howled, a light began to glow from Ma Wei's neck as a mark was left in a dripping wolf paw pattern. It was made at the junction between her shoulders and neck, red in coloration as if she had a blood mark that would never leave. She screamed in pain and writhed a little bit as the bonding took hold, sweat began beading and dripping from her forehead as she lay still after the effect of bonding was over. – Finally, we can talk now – a deep baritone voice sounded in her head, she looked at the wolf's head for a moment before nodding. The crystals that grew shrank back down to their normal size; her eyes glazed a little from being tired to the pain. She let her fingers glide through the wolf's soft fur, she would have another talkative friend now. She wondered what the wolf's name was, she looked at the wolf with a small smile. "Alright Albus, thank you for the bond." She spoke, she looked at her blue bangle and grinned. A new friend, after all this her fear went away. The rest of the pack howled and gathered around the bonded duo. Ma Wei shuddered a little bit, feeling uneasy. At first Ma Wei thought that everything would be alright, until one of the wolves jumped at Albus with a nasty snarl. "Albus!" Ma Wei shouted as the wolf bit his ear, tearing it a little bit. He snarled himself and bit down on the young wolf, a savage growl came from him and she felt the vibration.

-Do not fear, I can handle the wolves. – Albus spoke confidently, Ma Wei could only nod. A yelp came from the young ambitious wolf and when Albus let go It ran off with its tail tucked between its legs, he snarled at everyone staring at him making sure that they knew he meant business. With that he turned his back on his pack, they howled as they left, and Ma Wei watched them stand there howling as if they were sending off their leader. For a moment Ma Wei felt bad, had she bonded with their leader? Turning around she looked at her new companion and sighed as she rode on his back, her tone was exhausted as she spoke. "Fu An, where will we go from here?" She looked at the bangle on her wrist, it was silent for the moment. – Master. – Fu An finally spoke. – We should head towards the nearest temple. – Ma Wei nodded and pat Albus's neck, knowing he heard Fu An. "Alright, for now I'll just…" Ma Wei Yawned again. "I'll just take a nap." She fell asleep while riding her ice wolf, leaning on his shoulders and neck. Once he felt she wouldn't fall off he began trotting and then broke out into a run, his long legs moving swiftly and with an agile feel to him they ran a long distance. Albus's pack ran with him for a while until they got to the border of their territory, Albus and the pack howled as they retreated. His family looking at him one last time before disappearing in the forest.

Hearing their howling Ma Wei opened her eyes and watched as quite a few wolves stood there, as if they were saying goodbye to Albus. Ma Wei smiled; he was well loved by them. She didn't move as she fell back to sleep with her smile, her companions' fur was soft and comforting. Albus changed his speed as he felt her body go limp on his back, for a moment he seemed a little panicked but then sighed as she breathed steadily. It would take a while to get to their next destination so Albus made sure he was careful not to ruin her sleep, he smiled as he ran through the woods.

[Ma Wei's Dream]

Darkness covered everything in inky blackness, the mist on the ground was almost blinding though she was thankful that she could see the dark trees through the mist. She navigated through them; her legs sore. "Albus?" She called out; her hand cupped to her face. "Fu An?" She called again; something was not right. A large black crow called out into the eerily dark forest, Ma Wei watched it for a moment and as it turned there was a white crow attached to it. She shook her head wondering what kind of creature it was, its beady eyes watched her as she passed by the bird. Birds didn't bother Ma Wei; she gave it a small smile before moving on. She looked at her bangle, it no longer shined blue like usual and instead had a gray look to it. This worried Ma Wei, wondering what happened to it. She subconsciously rubbed the bangle on her wrist nervously, continuing to look around. She felt like she was walking for hours, nothing really changed as she continued walking down the path she was on. Taking a deep breath, she watched as something unknown to her slithered around the black trees, it left a thick sticky tar looking substance in its path.

Pursing her lips, Ma Wei cautiously continued walking. A bit of insecurity rose in her, she didn't have her companions with her. There was a kind of shriek that echoed in the forest which caused her to jump and panic, this caused her to run but she didn't know where she was running to. After a while she slowed down and just walked, her heart racing. It felt like she was wandering around for hours, it was like the hours had slowed down as she came to the edge of the black forest. Her blue eyes were striking against the dark background, she saw the barrier and touched it for a second. Curious about it, she had never seen anything like it. Tears fell from her face as she made a fist and punched it, she screamed loudly and for a moment she thought about giving up on escaping the forest. The thought of her friends being abandoned turned that thought around, she shook her head and pounded the barrier until her hands began bleeding leaving a red trail running down it. Her blood caused the barrier to open a little bit, she stared at the hole in fascination. Was her blood that powerful? There was another screech echoing in the forest and she quickly escaped the forest boundary, once she was out of it, she watched it close. A smile spread across her face before she turned around and began running, she didn't want to stop until she found her companions.

She slowed for a moment when she heard some creatures, looking back at the black forest she noticed that there were creatures escaping it. Would that be a problem? She wasn't sure, stopping she clutched her chest as her heart thudded loudly. She thought about her friends for a moment, where in the world were they? Hugging herself, Ma Wei moved her arms up and down as if she were cold and trying to warm herself. She hadn't noticed before, but she had torn and blood-stained clothes for some reason, she sighed as she looked around. Her black hair was fuzzy as if she had gone months without washing it, she coughed and stumbled as she fell into a small lake. She thought that perhaps things would begin to get better as she washed herself in the lake, she began crying as she washed herself and her clothes hoping that the blood wasn't from someone she knew. Small cuts could be found all over her body and neck, probably from when she ran through bushes that clung to passersby. She found that she was alone, somewhat of a good thing as she walked out of the lake. Her clothing clung to her body like a second skin and she felt that there was something wrong, she didn't know what it was, but she became alert as she looked around again. No one was there, she shook her head.

For a moment she stood at the edge of the lake, looking down the road opposite of where she came from and perked herself up by smacking her cheeks a little bit. Smiling she walked forward down the road, the warmness of the sunshine now helping her dry off. Her personal mission at this point was to find her friends, wherever they had gone. She was determined to find them, she had to survive whatever she was going through first. Her face went blank as she continued to walk, the wounds that were deep on her were still bleeding a little bit discoloring her nearly dry clothing. She ignored it, breathing through her mouth and nose as she walked. It didn't take long before people on horses found her walking through tall brush, her eyes were glassy now. Perhaps from the loss of blood, they watched her struggle to walk through the tall grass. She stumbled, fell, and stood back up to continue. The soldiers watching her were impressed though suspicious since she came out of the black forest, there had been a sign that someone broke the barrier. Was it her? She began to sway a little bit as she came to the road a few feet in front of the soldiers and carriage, her eyebrow rose for a moment before she continued to shakily continued to walk.

The ground began to shake as she took a step, Ma Wei screamed and crouched into a ball. The last time the earth shook she fell down an abyss and landed in this world, perhaps she would die this time. Tears fell from her face as she thought about Fu An and Albus, maybe this was all a dream? Yes, it had to be right? She didn't want to die, she looked at her bangle and sighed. Was it really a dream? The bangle was still a dull gray color, what could she do if it wasn't a dream? There was a sound of something panting, Ma Wei peeked up a little bit and noticed horse hooves in front of her. So it wasn't an earth quake? She stared at the black hooves for a long while, the legs of the horse moved a little bit before black boots stood next to them. She stayed in the position she was in as the person and horse looked at her, she sighed and heard the soldiers talking about her maybe being a witch or something. She wondered what they were on about, wasn't this a magical realm? Her head began hurting as she thought about what was going on, the more she thought about it the more her head ached. Someone touched her and she flinched smacking his hand away, swords were drawn and laid on her shoulders.

What in the world was going on? She stiffened as they yelled at her, would she even be able to live? Perhaps… Perhaps she couldn't say her final goodbye to her friends after all, roughly she was dragged up and her head bobbed a little bit back and forth. She saw their mouths moving but couldn't hear them anymore, perhaps it was karma. "Master, what should we do with her?" One of the soldiers questioned while holding her right side up, another soldier quietly stood on her left side. A young man walked up to her and looked at her, he stopped at her eyes and tilted his head. "Woman, where are you from?" The group leader questioned this, she didn't know what he said and couldn't respond. Her glassy eyes began to roll to the back of her head as she became heavier, though she wasn't that heavy to the guards. The soldiers looked at her with a bit of shock, someone dared to ignore the man. She froze as a hand touched her face, forcing her to look at the man questioning her. Her eyes looked dead and vacant, as if she lost all hope in life. The man shook his head and told them to leave her there, the band of people left the area as she lay crumpled on the ground. As if he had second thoughts the man turned around and hopped off his horse, two soldiers picked her up and she tried to struggle out of their grip.

One of the soldiers accidently pressed on her open wound and she struggled not to scream, a few tears fell from her face. Her eyes were the only thing showing she was in pain; the man had no concern for that. He touched her face again to look at her and she glared at him, she was a bit cold, but he stayed quiet for the moment. "Take her back." Was all he said before leaving, they roughly picked her up. Though he didn't show it, his soldiers knew he was worried for the woman. They were suspicious still, so any chance they had they made sure she would hit a bump. Blood began trickling from the carriage they were using; she was laying there with no shelter or cover as if she were a sack of rice. She couldn't care at that moment and fell asleep despite their picking on her, the leader had come out to see why the barrier had been damaged and found her running from the direction they were headed, perhaps she would know why. Her deep sleep ended when she felt a man behind her, she sighed and moved away from him. The horses sounded like they were pounding a war drum, moving at a swift speed. Why was she sitting now? She moved away, again but couldn't move far.

The man was careful not to let her be jostled too much, she was already hurt. One of her wounds began bleeding all over his light-colored clothing, she coughed a bit before coughing up some blood. They ran as fast as they could on horseback, the trip to Sora realm was a bit rough and she didn't know how much time passed before she woke from her sleep once more. She looked around for her companions, however, they were not there. She sat up and had to wait a moment as her head spun, with a little bit of trouble she staggered out of the bed and stumbled a little bit. She knocked over a candle holder and some stuff on a table by accident, finally standing up she walked to the door of… Where was she? Her head hurt when she thought about what happened, with one hand she pressed on her left temple and with the other she opened the door to her room. She noticed guards coming her way and ran the opposite direction they were coming from, although she didn't know where she was, she also didn't know why the guards were chasing her since she left the room. She staggered a little bit and coughed up more blood, it dripped from the left side of her mouth. Gripping her chest, a little bit she grimaced and started running again despite the soldiers telling her to stop.

She gave a slight smile due to the fact she was still faster than them as a wounded woman, however, she was promptly stopped by a very sturdy thing and knocked to the ground. "How dare you, what an ugly thing." Someone said, the group of people stared at her laying on the ground, she groaned from the pain. Ma Wei struggled to stand again; she was on her knees when someone bent her over causing her to cough more blood with their rough handling. The hand left her, and she dared to stare at the blue-eyed man, he glared at her and smacked her face causing her to make a noise. She lay there for a moment breathing heavily before she began moving again, her body hurt as she stood blood dripping from her mouth as she stared at the blue-eyed man. He stared back in her blue eyes; here blue eyes were rare. The unknown man pulled her up by her throat and glares at her, how dare an unknown woman have royalty eyes. She squirmed in his hands and clawed at him, nothing she did got him to release her until he spoke. He didn't like her, but his son brought her here, he had to admit she was a strong woman. "Son, come here." The king said, tossing Ma Wei on the ground. She grunted but stayed there, the wound on her back was evident now.

"Where did she come from?" His icy blue eyes looked at the woman he tossed on the ground; he was curious about her a bit now. Someone with such a wound could be up and running around was a feat, a strong feat. His son didn't know where she came from either, a sigh came from him. "We found her running away from the black forest, she's heavily injured but was able to escape from my guards. He stared at her motionless body for a moment, what kind of woman was she? Ma Wei felt a little sluggish as she slowed down in the… where was she again? She coughed and winced in pain, her face red from coughing. She breathed shakily, there was the sound of people clanking something. She sat there for a moment and wondered what she should do, with a struggle she stood up. Her eyes were a little blurry, how long had she fallen asleep? She found that her wounds were closed now, this was a good thing, her head swirled a little and she almost felt like she couldn't breathe. Clutching her neck, she gasped for air, what was this? Perhaps she should just lay back down, she wondered what she got herself into as she went back to the bed. She blinked a little bit as she sat there, her breathing became a little easier, but her mind still wondered what was going on.

As she sat there, she looked at the person coming in the room, she couldn't tell who it was, but the person seemed a bit aggressive. "Who's there?" Ma Wei questioned, fear and caution in her voice. The man said nothing as he walked toward her, she felt her heart sink. "Then, if you are here to kill me." She said as he stood before her. "Don't let it be painful… please." She begged to the man, the only thing she felt before she died was the initial pain.

Ma Wei jolted up from her sleep, blinking her eyes for a moment as a figure loomed over her for a moment before covering her eyes. She was lifted and thrown over the person's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, he smelled of Mongolia flowers. She didn't remember anyone here smelling like that, a prick of coldness ran down her spine. Who was the person holding her? "Who are you?" she spoke out, a bit worried. The nervousness in her voice could be heard, when they didn't talk, she began to struggle in his arms to no avail. She hit him in many places along his shoulders and back, continuing this for a few moments before she slowed down and sighed. No point in continuing this when the person felt nothing, her body went limp after that thought. She didn't know what happened from point a to point b, but she woke up sore, something was keeping her held in place. There was a scent of damp rocks, somehow, she was standing up though she didn't know what was going on. She looked around the room silently, was she in a prison? Someone laughed as they entered the room, he looked at Ma Wei with a glint in his eyes and she shuddered.

"Now, tell me child." The man walked toward her, his voice a bit feminine. "Tell me the truth, I am the torturer here and I do a very good job." He said with a laugh, his tone was filled with a kind of anticipation. He took the whip in his hand and cracked it on the floor, he was an older man and quite overweight. He licked his lips as he drew closer, she struggled a little bit. He got close enough that she noticed he had some facial hair; on his head he had a hat that flopped over his bun. He smiled at her with a creepy grin, she raised an eyebrow. Sweat had been beading and falling as she stood in the strained position, he walked closer to her and she frowned. "Why are you in Sora palace?" He questioned, his eyes glinting with his rough tone. "I do not know Sora Palace, who are you?" Ma Wei spoke, she thought about what had happened recently. "As far as I know, someone brought me here." She said again, she stopped speaking and coughed a little. The chubby man nodded and rubbed his chin squinting his eyes as he looked at her, his tone didn't sound promising.

"Mmm, yes." The man smiled and raised his whip, smacking Ma Wei across her left shoulder. She looked at him with dead eyes, she would die sooner or later. "Where are you from?" He asked curiously, these were questions he was told to ask. The empress was angry that her son brought home an unknown woman to his palace, she figured torturing her to get what she wanted would be good. If the woman died, it had nothing to do with her. Ma Wei chuckled a little bit, her words sounded like she was going crazy. "I'm told." She spoke but was quite for a moment. "I'm from Enfor Realm." Ma Wei spit out before coughing again, the man's eyebrows perked up and he broke out into a sweat. Enfor realm? Weren't they discussing an alliance with them? He cursed for a moment, but then thought that perhaps she was lying. This caused him to frown at her, raising his hand he whipped her again which tore her shirt.

Her shirt was opened, threatening to fall from her body. Blood soaked it and she simply laughed; this wasn't what made him stop. A gigantic dragon marking filled her back, it began slithering around her body the light brown dragon against her skin looked like it was painted on her. It was a sign of Enfor realm royalty. She coughed again as the dragon settled back on her back, there were footsteps of people coming. The Sora King came down first followed by two servants, he was sweating when he saw Ma Wei. The Enfor Emperor came down shortly after, they had heard that an assassin was captured. Ma Wei trembled as she looked at them, more people to torture her. She laughed as she hung from the rafter, looking at them all. "Just kill me." Her black hair fell like a curtain and for a moment she relaxed, another cough came from her and blood fell from her mouth dripping stickily to the floor. "At least death would be… better." She laughed again and her head fell to her chest a little bit, she was still laughing. Once again, the deep cut on her back had opened, her tone was distant. "Forcing a confession out of an innocent person, won't work." She stared at the Enfor Emperor; she had seen him before.

She breathed heavily for a moment, looking at the prison torturer. "I guess you need friends to torture someone? Fine, give it your best shot." She spoke, her tone was strong, but she was afraid. She didn't know where the strength came from, she looked at each one individually. "If I'm left alive, it will be a disaster to you." She laughed again. "Enough!" The Sora king yelled; his tone was one that demanded respect. Ma Wei merely laughed, he grabbed the whip that the prison torturer held and hit her back with it. Something on her body moved deflecting the blow, the dragon on her body came out and roared at everyone in the room as it snaked around Ma Wei. Her eyes looked vacant as she smiled at them, finally the white dragon stood above her with the whip in its mouth. Its blue eyes looking at them and Ma Wei smiled, the dragon was what gave her the courage to say what she pleased. "You want to kill me; it won't be easy." The rope in the dragon's mouth froze in the king's hand, another loud roar came from the dragon and it shook the dungeon they were in before going back into Ma Wei's body. By this time, she passed out, sweat and blood dripping from her body and face. Thankfully she had a undergarment on still, the emperor looked at the king with horror on his face, the white dragon with blue eyes he had seen before.

He swallowed his saliva; his wife had a white dragon with blue eyes and as far as he knew she was the only one. So, who was this woman? The Sora king rose his hand that had the whip frozen to it, he was about ready to strike Ma Wei again when the emperor stopped him. "Enough, I need to see her." He looked at the girl slumped over with her arms above her head, slowly he walked to her and bent his knees moving her hair out of the way. The emperors face went cold, his voice was a whisper. "Su Rougang…" He stared at the woman; she couldn't be more than seventeen, but she looked exactly like his wife who disappeared with their infant. He began to panic a little bit before standing up, his face showing how shocked he was. Standing up he untied Ma Wei and covered her with a cloak that one of his servants held for him, he looked at her for a moment. "Quickly, call the physician." The emperor said with an urgent tone, picking her up he carried her out of the dungeon. The Sora king following behind carefully, he watched as the girl's head bobbed with each step. He was afraid of her dying; she was his only daughter. He wondered what happened to her before seeing the bangle on her wrist, the same bangle his missing wife had when she was young.

His voice caught in his throat as he looked at the young woman in his arms, she was not Su Rougang. If he wasn't wrong, she was his daughter, one of the few children that went missing that year. He wasn't sure fully, but he had hopes that he found his darling princess. All his other princesses had died from various injuries or illnesses, he felt like he would be sick as he laid her down on the bed in his sleeping quarters. Maids rushed in and out of the room trying to stop her bleeding, once they finally succeeded once the physician came into the room. He saw her appearance and thought that his prestige would be ruined to help a mere maid, though he stayed in the room for a moment before leaving saying she would be fine. The king caught him by the arm and glared at him, they were watching him and knew he didn't do anything for the poor child. "This is the emperor's child; you dare not help her?" The king spoke, he was angry. It was a weird way to find out who your family was, the physician's face went pale and he glanced at the emperor and then the girl on the bed. The emperor's daughter? Ma Wei would have laughed if she were conscious, how could she be someone royal?

It was preposterous to think about, the man knelt and bowed but wasn't given a second chance. He was taken away by soldiers as he yelled for another chance, another physician came into the room thinking the same thing but checked her over because of what he heard happened inside from his apprentice. To save the child another had to die, he poured a powder on her that caused her to writhe in pain, yet no sound came from her. The physician raised an eyebrow while watching her without saying anything, her face showing she was clearly in pain. He shook his head; women were tough creatures. A little bit after that she opened her eyes and looked around, the first person she seen was the physician who frowned when she looked at him. They had not killed her, she wondered what happened to have her laying in such a lavish room. She looked around at the people standing near the bed she sighed, sitting up with great difficulty she was instantly lightheaded. Holding her head in her hands she brought her legs to her chest and cried. Her friends were missing, and she was in this weird cycle of abuse she couldn't find her way out of, what would happen to her now? She didn't know the people who were talking to her, nor did she know where she was.

[End of Ma Wei's Dream]

Ma Wei woke up with a jerk as she looked around, she calmed down when she noticed the feeling of Albus under her hands. She let out a sigh and smiled, thanking the gods that it was just a dream. She thought she truly lost her companions, the two of them where her only friends and family. There was no way they would abandon her, that much she knew. – Master, are you ok? – Albus questioned in a worried tone, she seemed to have had a nightmare and it made Albus worry about her. Ma Wei pat his neck in a comforting fashion, she was alright after all. It was simply a nightmare, she sighed as she looked at his fur. "Thank you for being with me Albus, it is greatly comforting to know you are on my side." She hugged his neck, if only she could wrap herself inside of the warmth of his fur. The wolf huffed for a moment but nodded in the end, at least his master was alright. A small smile came to his own face, though it was more of a wolf smile than a human one. He began slowing down and walking down a hill, it was rather steep, and Ma Wei stared in uncertainty. – Do not fear, I am here. – Albus said with pride, Ma Wei smiled at that.

"I trust you my friend." Ma Wei spoke happily; it was starting to get dark soon and wondered if he napped as she did. – Master, we should find somewhere to camp soon. – Fu An spoke, the tone from the bangle was cheery. "Alright, then can you find us a safe spot Albus?" She questioned, though she knew he would do his best. He howled and heard howling in return, Ma Wei frowned a little bit before she noticed a group of red wolves in the tree line. "Albus…" Ma Wei spoke for a moment, though her questioning word was met with the fire wolves bowing to Albus. He talked with the fire wolves for a little bit but then in the end they followed the fire wolves to their den site, Ma Wei smiled as puppies came running out of their dens. Ma Wei ended up getting off Albus and crouched on the ground for the puppies who were brave enough to com to where she was and greet her, she smiled and pat them gently before they ran off puffing their chests out with pride. She smiled warmly at that; puppies were so cute. "This reminds me of your pack Albus." She spoke with a soft tone, he snorted and coughed. His pack was bigger, not to mention the wolves. Perhaps it was because they had more food available to them, he wasn't too sure.

One puppy was extra brave and walked up to her putting its front paws on her leg, Ma Wei bent down and picked her up. One of the fire wolves looked at her anxiously and Ma Wei smiled as she noticed it, walking to the fire wolf she put the pup down and smiled. "You have a brave child, be proud." She turned to walk away when she felt a large head touch her hand, turning she saw the mother of the puppy. She was thanking Ma Wei, smiling she pat the wolf's head. The warmth of the wolf's fur felt nice on her hand. Everyone here was so nice, it was great seeing this. Such a loving family, something she didn't really have. Ma Wei wasn't jealous though; she had her own kind of family that had been growing since she got here. – Master, we will reach Yaozu temple in the morning, please rest. – Albus spoke as he watched the wolves and his master interact, a slight pang of jealousy came over him. He snorted and laid down, watching them carefully in case they tried something with his master. Albus seemed as if he were the king of wolves, did celestial beasts also have that kind of ranking system? Ma Wei thought that perhaps it was only a human thing, she smiled and yawned as she thought about this. Stretching as she lay next to Albus, perhaps that could be a conversation for another time.

They would have to figure out a lot of stuff to talk about over the next few days, they were on great terms with the fire wolves although they barely know them. This was a pleasant thing for Ma Wei, she smiled as she fell asleep. There was something about having Fu An and Albus as family that calmed her heart, perhaps it would grow in the future as they go along in their journey. The future was bright, and it could only get brighter from here.