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Iekka looked at the staff in her hand and quickely whiped a tear from her eye, her steps soft and swift as she headed down the path. Soon the dense trees faded to the grassy clearing and the large stone building rising up infront of her. She took in a deep breath as she approached, listening to the waves break beside her. She turned and headed to the waters, indstead of entering the grounds of the building, setting her staff down beside her as she lowered herself down to her knees and looked into the breaking waves.

Iekka let her hand graze the waves then ran it gently thorugh her hair, letting the red strands fall over eachother before she looked back at it, stained a dark brown, that of dried blood. She shut her eyes clenching her hand closed as she did, her knuckles turning white as her jaw softly quivered. She opened her eyes again and looked at her shivering reflection in the water, no longer did she see the strong and dark image she once held, but now a broken girl who wished no more than to forget everything that once burdened her. The blood of those she had killed seem to cover her body, though there was no blood to be seen.

"What has happened to me...?" She whispered to herself. Thoughts began to rush through her head, memories of those she killed, memories of those she had met during her time on the island, everything flooding her mind. She stood up slowly, using her staff to help her to her feet, her knees shakeing.

Another image flashed through her mind:

Her mother screamed as the knife drew its way thorugh her throat, then silence, only the soft whimppering from her father could be heard. She turned to face him and he nodded to her softly as he whispered.

"It's okay... you do what must be done..." His face was covered with blood and his bright green eyes looked up at her.

Iekka screamed slightly as she stumbled into the waters, the waves breaking against her knees and her staff floating a few feet from her. Her hands were grasped around her head, her fingers weaved thorugh her hair as she slipped to her knees, the waves breaking around her. Tears streamed down her face and her eyes stared into the foaming sea with disbelief.

"What has become of me...?" She repeated softly.

'Every cloud has a silver lining.' The words echoed through her head. 'Maybe it is true...' She thought. 'Maybe there is something inside me worth keeping, I cant see it... but he seems to think there is something there...'

Iekka looked up to the sky, watching the whisps of cloud as they were gently hearded along by the soft wind. She took in a deep breath as she gathered up her staff and rose to her feet once more. Never taking her eyes from the sky, she turned and walked from the water; her eyes looked down as her feet met the grass.

'If there is nothing worth keeping in me...' Her thoughts started. "Then I shall make something worth keeping..." Her words flowed from mouth as she turned back to the waters.

"Who I was, is dead..." She seemed to be released of something in her, a pain seemed to be set free and she smiled, and even that smile seemed to take away something inside her. Slowly she realized what was worth living for, a chance to re-discover who she was, she no longer was burdened with those of her past, she had been banished from those lands; her parents where gone, even if taken by her own hand, there was nohting keeping her to her old path anymore. Those she had killed were dead, those who knew here no longer were with her. Like a fresh sheet of parchment her life had become; only now did she realize that. She could change who she was, she could start anew.

"Now..." She whispered as she looked up at the walls of the Shi Long Monastery. "Lets see who I am..."

She smirked slightly as she turned away from the monastery and back through the woods, not yet ready to take step into there.

"Maybe... for now." She ran her hand along the trunk of a large tree as she looked up along the path back to the town. "I shall take Sian up on his request..." She looked at her hand again. "...right after I bathe...."

Iekka wandered through the town, avoiding every living thing she saw. Now clean, she felt refreshed, with her new intentions for her path of life she quickely made her way back to the monastery, her staff in her hand and a new pride found in her, no longer fed from the black deeds she had accomplished, but of a new air, a new belief of who she was.

This time she walked silently into the building and silently into the library where she sat at a table in the far back near the windows over looking the ocean. She opened her sac and pulled out a piece of parchment and a feather quill and a small vial of dark red ink.

"Sean-san wants me to kill..." Iekka muttered as she dipped the quill into the vial. "No longer will I kill for money... if he wishes for one dead, then he should play his part and aproach them himself and take away their life. He plays the cowards game..."

She started to write in her elegant script a quick note.

Sean-san,
I am afraid that my work under your services are as of now, terminated. I do not want to end this on a foul note and would rather speak of this with you in person.

I appologise for vanishing so suddenly again, though this time with no note of departure; but things have changed, if for the better I do not yet know. Though my changes have rendered me usless to your causes.

Iekka looked up and stopped writting for a moment as she thought to herself.

'He will no be pleased...' She took in a breath as she looked down at her note. 'That matters not, I am changeing my ways and no-one can stop it...'


Whenever you are avalible to speak, you can call for me and we can settle this in words instead of breaking it off thorugh ink on parchment.

Yours,
:~: Iekka Sallou-m'Arri :~:

She nodded as she quickely read over what she wrote and blew on it lightly to help the ink dry before she carefuly folded it into three sections. She pulled out a bloodred candle and a small wax seal from her sac as well, and lit the candle. Moments later she let the wax dip onto the edge of the letter and sealed it with seal, leaveing a rose imprinted into the wax.

Carefuly she gathered up her things, putting the quill and ink back into her sac along with the candle once it had cooled and the wax seal. Slowly standing she looked out the window and out onto the waves and smiled as she took in another long deep breath.

Swinging her sac over her shoulder, she picked up her staff and gently took the letter and slipped it into a pocket of her blouse and headed out of the library and back off through the woods.

Quickely Iekka heads back to Sean-san's cabin on the beach and watches the waves break on the shore just beyond it from the cover of the tree line. Her heart still raceing slightly from a conversation never finished.

"He will not be pleased with this..." She whispered to herself as she carefuly walked from the trees and across the sand to where his cabbin stood. Not a sound she made as her soft leather boots gently caressed the sands, not even leaveing traces of movement behind her. Un-noticed she stopped infront of his door and carefuly slipped the note from her pocket out into her hand, where she then softly placed it infront of the door. Now crouched down she looked at her hand, and in a small whisp of mist a bloodred rose appeared in it, though she shook her head with slight regret and clenched her hand around it, and it seemed to shatter like glass, the pieces vanishing before they hit the sand. Again she opened her hand and in a small whisp of mist another rose appeared, this time with soft milky white coloured pettals. Iekka smiled softly as she placed the white rose ontop of the note and rose to her feet.

Silently she turned and headed away from the cabin, only stopping once to turn around and look back, before pulling the hood of the dark green cloak she wore back up over her head and reajusting her grip around her sfaff.

"Now." Iekka whispered to herself with a slight sigh and a new confidence in her. "I have someone to meet in town..." She seemed to go over the things that she wished to finish. "Then..."

Her words were cut off by a large wolf which seemed to appear infront of her, its fur pure white and its eyes; one, like her's, a bright emerald green, and the other, a striking ice blue. She grabbed her staff with a firm grip, though did not sense danger from wolf. Moments later another wolf stepped from the trees, its appearance much like the one before her. Together the two wolves stood, about three yards away from where she stood. Both stood side by side, their white fur seeming to glow in the dim light of the forest.

Iekka let her gaze meet theirs, shifting back from one wolf to the other, and she tipped her head, trying to grasp what was happening. Such an odd occurance, that should have been met with fear, was met with a daze of calm. One of the wolves seemed to nod to her as it turned, the other wolf following, and before they met the line of trees where they would have dissapeared into the depths of the woods around her, the wolves seemed to melt into a wave of mist that seemed to spread and settle like a fog over the ground. Soon she could not see her feet through the mist.

Iekka looked up, her eyes searching thorugh the trees, and her heart beat starting to race. She didnt dare move and her mind seemed to go blank as she took in a deep breath closing her eyes. When she opened them again the woods were as they were, no mist or fog, and no wolves. Only the softly sung songs from the many birds hidden in the branches and the gentle trickle from some stream.

"I'm loosing my mind..." She muttered as she gathered herself once more and started to head towards the town again.

...behind her sat the two wolves, silently sitting side by side, watching as she dissapeared from the woods, though she never knew that they still were watching.

After the conversation with a now dear friend, Iekka headed back into the town. She smiled, things were starting to make sense now and starting to pull themselves together. She had a goal to work towards, and all she wanted was to understand who she was, for the first time.

She walked thorugh town with a smile on her face, her long green cloak flowing in the breeze behind her and her staff in her hand, which she occationaly twirled in a quick circle one way then the other before letting it hit the ground again. She took in a deep breath as the night started to set in and the only light in the sky was that of the stars and moon shining down engulfing the town in a silver glow.

She was just about to head down the South path down to the ocean to get a look at the waters during the beautiful night before...


The world seemed to go black, then there was a flash of white infront of her, and in the darkness sat the two pure white wolves, their multi-coloured eyes shimmering and their fur seeming to let off a soft glow.

Iekka started at them, then looked around, but wasnt able to see the town, or anything that looked familiar... or anything at all; She was sorrounded by darkness. Her gaze settled on the wolves again, then from behind then and from the shadows beyond a woman walked up. Her hair pure white and only going down to just above her shoulders, where it feathered up around her face. She wore a soft light yellow silk shirt that clasped together up the front with a high neck colar along with a long black jacket that hung down to just around her feet where a pair of thick black leather boots protruded out from soft loose black slik pants.

One thing stood out about this woman, not her elvish grace that was held down by the human blood that ran in her veins, but her eyes; one a bright emerald green, and the other, a shimmering ice blue.

Iekka started at the woman and it seemed as though she started to shake, but she managed to get out two words...

"Inwë...Séregon?"

The woman infront of her, with her white hair seeming to glow like the fur of the wolves, smiled softly at Iekka, then...



Iekka sat up in the leaves gasping for air, her green cloaks hood falling back from around her head and her staff still under her hand. She looked around, then upon only seeing trees, letting the golden rays light that marked the morning, shimmer down into swirling pools of light that danced around her, Iekka stumbled to her feet; Her staff the only thing keeping her from falling.

She started to head back through the woods untill she came upon the familliar Eastern gates where she stopped and looked up at the stone, bathed in the golden light, with wonder.

"I am loosing my mind..." She muttered.