From Far Away by moosegirl13

Prologue

From Far Away

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For Yessica

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Prologue

The first time the cactus needle pierced her flesh, Kagome felt an overwhelming sense of joy. To her tribe, body mutilation was a sign of power and accomplishment; a form of ritual that was repeated each time they killed. Those with the most scars had the most say of what went on within the tribe. Few had no such scaring -- such as small children--, so their influence was little to none. And so, when Kagome had made her first kill at the age of eight, she knew it was her turn to finally rise above the status she was born into. A harmless jackrabbit did not matter. A kill was a kill, and in an unforgiving land, it was most precious.

By the time she reached her eighteenth birthday, Kagome’s scars had gone down the left side of her neck and spilled like ink down her shoulder to her upper chest and back. Her killings were no longer rabbits. War had broken out across the desert. For seven long years, sand absorbed both blood and bodies as the lords of cities fought to control the savage tribes of the south. Villages were decimated, turned to runes almost over night, and the people either slaughtered where they stood or captured to become the hell-bringers’ slaves. There were no rules to war in this land. Kill or be killed. And when the savages who called themselves civilized came to the village of the Jukotian people, Kagome did just that.

There was no time to regret the things she had done; no time to pine over the families she undoubtedly split apart all for a freedom she knew would never truly exist. It was not that Kagome was pessimistic by nature; rather she was just more realistic. For all the power her tribe had, the governments to the north had more.  Time had been running out for her tribe. They were still stuck within the dark ages they had placed upon themselves since their ancestors of the past had all but destroyed the world. At one time, all the peoples of the earth lived together in harmony and balance, like her tribe. That had been more than four hundred years ago. Nothing happened but human nature. It was the desire to be bigger, stronger, and smarter that had divided the world’s habitants once again. History always repeated itself.

The desert land had always been avoided by those who wanted more. The land was not a safe land. It was full of dangers that, for the most part, could not be seen. In their land, water was gold and food was just as prized. In their land, the most dangerous thing to harm a human was not a snake or a jackal or scorpion. Cracks split the land, unleashing poisonous fumes that would kill a full-grown man in seconds. They believed it to be the work of their gods, who made the land in such a way to keep those who did not belong out. But when the north came, their gods had abandoned them. It was now up to them to fight for themselves. From that time on, the peoples of the south fought their greedy neighbors for a land that was no Eden.

It was when Kagome had reached her twentieth year that the war she sacrificed so hard for had reached its highest peak. Her people were being drained by the invaders; losing to a force so much more powerful than them that it was a feat her tribe lasted so long. With their gods no longer sheltering them, Kagome -- the one who knew from almost the very beginning that the war would be futile-- stood alone, willing for the enemy to perish. Alone, after the retreat had been issued by her older brother, Kagome barred arms against the force of one hundred men. In that instant, the earth opened up once more and the enemy fell from both her hands and the gods’.

Kagome had all but won the battle.

Word spread across the land, a whisper in the wind. It came to the major port-city of Lot  in the north where it told the city's aging lord that his army lay dead in the barren wasteland. “Beware,” the wind whispered, “the Black Dragon arises!”

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Please, please review! If you're confused, good. It's supposed to be that way. Love ya lots!

~moosegirl13