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	The northern winds were uncommon to many people. The north was
hardly populated, filled with high peaks and low hopes. It was virtually
worlds away from this boy's home, but he had no other place to run.
	The boy went under several names: urchin, street beggar,
wanderer, might as well be dead; but the closest one was Ted. He was
nothing more than a wisp, about six years of rough brown hair and
strangely intelligent eyes of the same color. A cloak far too large for
him whipped him in the cold wind, punishing him.
	It had good reason to. Everyone else either punished him or tried
to kill him. Ted wanted to believe that after fifty or sixty years it
would end, but that wasn't to be. He was cursed to live forever.
	There was nothing boring about it, that was part of the curse.
Ted never had a moment of rest or else his enemies would be upon him. The
enemies who wanted the true rune he carried, the rune that gave him his
eternal life and torment: the Soul Eater.
	All of the true runes had great powers and gave immortality, but
all brought their problems. His rune was the most cursed yet the most
powerful one. The ability to govern life and death was on this six
year-old's right hand, but so was the pain and suffering of an entire
world. Ted would gladly give up such power so he could enjoy friendship
that wouldn't end in death.
	A particularly strong gust of wind blew his feet from under hi,.
Icy tears formed around his face ans he pounded the ice-covered ground.
Ted inhaled sharply as the ice cut into his fists. Must everything punish
him or obeying his grandfather?!
	The wind died down, allowing Ted the chance to run. He quickly
stood up and made a break for anything that would give him shelter.
Weather was not about to be his end. His body was telling him otherwise,
but was at the mercy of his mind. The ground crunched under him as the
tried to run, but it was at the speed of a hurried walk.
	The wind picked up again and his jacket started its punishment
anew. Despite the coldness, there was no snow. Purity nor mercy would
touch someone as cursed as Ted. With Soul Eater, he never knew what those
words meant.
	There was hunger, though. Ted wanted a nice meal or once and the
rune wanted anything that held life within it. The creatures that were in
the area wanted both and found it in the small boy trying to find
shelter.
	Ted paused as he heard a noise. He looked about, trying to find
the source. There was no need to know if the thing was good or bad. There
was no mercy.
	After a few more steps he found out who, or rather what, was
making the noise. He was quickly surrounded by a group of night black
boars. All of them crouched low, red eyes tracking their target, tracking
their next meal.
	This was it, the last punishment Ted could stand. There was going
to be no more of it. He brought up his right hand, where a black symbol
began to burn with its power. Suddenly to flared up and the power was
released. A black dome surrounded the boars as well as Ted. The dome
turned opaque and moments later disappeared.
	Ted dropped to his knees and shook from the power and the cold.
His breaths came in sharp gasps and pierced his lungs like ice lances.
The boars were gone with the dome, their souls taken by the true rune.
That was not enough to make up for all of the suffering he had taken. An
entire world punished him, and now it was going to take a drastic turn.
	He stood and lifted the rune to the sky again. Ted screamed with
as much power of his punished lungs could. Even if it destroyed him, he
was going to administer his own punishment to the world. He was going to
show the world what their pain could really do.
	As he began to bring the rune's power into existence, Ted became
trapped in a white globe. His prison glowed and suddenly assaulted him
with the brightest of lights. He screamed again as he felt his power
dwindling back to nothing. He dared not open his eyes in fear of going
blind. Everything punished him for being who he was. Why couldn't the
world change and see that what he did was for his grandfather?
	"You stop that right this instant. I'll let you go if you promise
not to use the Soul Eater now." The voice was female and far away, most
likely on a peak somewhere.
	Ted realized what happened. Someone was using their magic against
him, but not to kill. It was used so that Soul Eater wouldn't be called
upon. It wasn't the full mercy that he was looking for, but it was still
mercy. He owed it to this person not to use the rune. "Okay, I won't use
Soul Eater."
	"Very good." He felt the sphere melt away around him. Ted
cautiously opened one eye to see if the bargain was kept. Since he didn't
go blind, he assumed that it was. He opened both and began to look for
the person that showed him something he didn't experience in a long time:
mercy.
	"Where are you?"
	"It's best that you don't worry about me, boy. There is a city
not far off from here. The inn is not too expensive and if you play your
cards right you could get a free meal or some nice clothes out of it."
	"But I have nothing."
	"Nothing? You should always have something, for if you have
something you can get anything."
	"Huh?"
	"Never mind. Here, take this." Something landed on Ted's head and
dropped to the ground in front of him. It was a leather pouch, and when
he opened it, he found it was nearly filled with money. "You go to that
city now! When you become a better person, we'll meet again. You can
trust me on that."
	"Why? So you can kill me and take my rune?"
	"You wound me with such words. I would never do such a thing.
Consider yourself safe from now on, until you are told by me otherwise. I
know your pain more than you think I do. Now, if you would excuse me, I
must go ahead. Continue on your present course, child! But don't stay too
long, your enemies are as close as your friends."
	"I have no friends!"
	"You have me, don't you? Claim friends quickly, you don't know
when you will lose them. That goes double for you. Farewell!" Ted heard
footsteps headed for the opposite direction of where he was going. 
	What did she mean by everything that she said? Ted figured she
liked to confuse people with strange words. There was nowhere that he was
safe and he had no friends. But she did say he knew his pain. That much
had the ring of truth. It was strange, but it did seem like she did know
about him. 
	It didn't matter now. He had more than enough money for a soft
bed and a few meals. He placed the pouch in his oversized jacket and kept
on walking. The wind was blowing as harsh as ever, but Ted felt a strange
buoyancy. It was as if that encounter gave him more power than he ever
had before. He walked against the wind, and his laughter echoed against
the stone walls. "Wind, you are nothing compared to Ted from the village
of the Lost Rune! Try your best, for I will always better you!" 
	The wind became stronger, but it still wasn't enough to stop
Ted's laughter. It seemed give up its efforts, and Ted's walk to the
village was one of the easiest walks he had ever taken. His jacket even
seemed to behave and he no longer felt angry or sad, just buoyant.
	The wind was nothing but a breeze, and it carried with it small
dots of white, the first signs of snow. 


Shana Markham
aka Matara Matsu aka the TURU legacy aka Demetria Milo, Prince of
Montgomery aka, oh you get the point!

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/3976

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