Across

This is a Perfect World fanfiction that I have been writing since September. The whole thing is in progress but I will finish it. I won't even try because I will.

Rating: PG - 13 for language and mild violence. Might turn R in the future.

Summary: Anwhei and and his teacher are both of the Wingkin but due to their being half Human, they are shunned by their own race. Added to that, Anwhei is a wanted criminal for "murdering" the emperor. Together, they seek to clean Anwhei's name and and unlock the secrets of his teacher's past.

**

Across
by Wolfy-chan

Chapter 1

He was running; and as he ran, his feet, which were filled with wounds caused by the jagged stones that littered his path for the past three and a half hours, bled profusely. Not only were his feet wounded, his left shoulder as well, sustained a massive injury from a wayward yu mang arrow. As he moved on, he made the effort of making his bloody trail disappear by muttering enchantments under his breath.

"Shit!" he muttered hoarsely as the chains of the shackles on his feet were caught in a stone projection, causing him to stagger, almost falling. Quickly, he regained his balance, a string of curses thrown out into the frigid night air. He leaned on a large slab of granite behind him on the mountain slope and struggled to calm his erratic breathing. Once he caught up with breathing, he started to limp slowly, and then went on running. Anwhei, as he was called, was running along a narrow mountainside path northwest of Feather City, the guards and the warden hot on his trail.

He wanted to escape the Feather City guards as much as any criminal in Perfect Land wanted. But no one has ever escaped the cursed arrows of the guards, especially the warden's, a yu mang notorious for his perfect command over the metal element and could shoot his arrows with surgical precision at astoundingly long distances. His skill rivaled that of the archers in Perfect Land who already ascended, having achieved Nirvana. The only difference in him was that he was duty-bound, immersed in a blinding quest in the elimination of evil.

Not half an hour passed Anwhei started to feel lightheaded, slowing him down, certain that it was the effect of blood loss. How we wished he could find a place to hide to stop and tend his wounds. But seeing the desolate nature of the place around him, he lost hope and went on running.

Several miles away from Anwhei, the warden, Niten, and the guards were busy tracking Anwhei’s path. The warden knew that Anwhei was not the one to be underestimated. Niten knew Anwhei by heart. Knew his history, knew his habits, knew his skills, knew his strengths, and most of all, he knew his one and only weakness. If Anwhei wanted to escape, he will with his wits and nothing less.

Hell, Niten even knew what his favorite food was. When Anwhei was first bought to jail, he did not eat any of the “fodder” served to them. He wanted to starve himself to death, except when he caught scent of toasted black sesame seeds, a scent that probably wafted from the kitchens a few hundred yards away, he practically begged for mercy to have them.

Niten surveyed the scenery around him. The grassland plains gave no room for hiding, he was sure of that, and its denizens were most unfriendly. Then his eyes turned to the lone mountain and the extending hills.

“Anwhei’s only choice is to run away and take the mountain passage that will lead him to... No.... He does not know that secret path. Only I and the guards know of it,” Niten thought critically. There was no way in heaven or hell that he will let Anwhei escape. Too much was at stake. His reputation. The safety of the imperial regents. Images of Anwhei's successful prison break five hours previous and the criminal's contemptuous snarl made his blood boil.

“You!” His voice boomed with controlled anger, pointing at a yu mang who was busy searching the grass for any traces of the criminal and assassin extraordinaire, Anwhei.

“Ye... Yesss.... sir?” the yu Mang stammered as he replied to his commanding officer.

“I need you to fly back to Feather City. Send a message to the Sword and Beast City elders to alert them of our current situation,” Niten said in a surprisingly calmed voice, yet his handsome countenance was filled with dread, one that he has not felt before.

“Shouldn't we alert the generals at Dragon City too?” another one spoke, although unsolicited, his suggestion was timely. Niten pondered for a few moments.

“No,” he said, surprising his comrades, and added, sounding as stringent and concise as possible, “Let me tell everyone of you that this matter should be contained between me, all of you here, and the elders of the lesser cities. This will not reach the ears of the Dragon City generals or anyone in Dragon City for that matter. Have I made myself clear?”

“What should I tell the elders sir?” the guard-turned-emissary asked again. It seemed to Niten that everyone liked to annoy him that day. He knew that the Heavens were testing him. The guard was fortunate enough not to receive the warden's wrath.

“Tell them,” Niten breathed deep and spoke, “Bloody Anwhei is on the loose.”

**

Wolfy's notes: I have already written the next three chapters. The fifth is still being written. I will be updating this fic monthly. Promise!