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Samui continued walking silently, showing no sign's of emotion for his sister's plight. Internally, it discomfitted him to see her like this, but he refrained from acting. Eruderu had demanded he go bring her back, so he did. It was now night, so he stopped walking. He noticed Miquelet continuing onward, heedless of the lowering light. He put an arm on her shoulder to stop her, and said '...sleep...'. He then sat down against a tree, not bothering with starting a fire or using covers, as he never felt the cold, anyway. Within seconds he was asleep, his breathing slower and more measured.

Only to bump into the shield Samui had erected the moment they left the guild. It was constructed almost entirely of translucent ice, and was much more solid than the usual kind. It was also enchanted with a self-repairing magic, so that even if someone tried to break it, it would regenerate almost instantly.

As soon as dawn approached, Samui's eyes opened, and he looked around. Sure enough, Miquelet had fallen asleep next to the barrier, so she must have tried to get away. She looked exhausted, so instead of waking her up, Samui picked her up, and continued onwards. He continued carrying her until she woke up. As soon as she showed signs of waking up, he set her gently on her feet. At this point, they were only three days away from their village.

As time passed, they finally were within sight of their home, Intoku Village. It was a small, pleasant community, where technology had visited, but never bothered to stay. The people here preferred to do most things the old-fashioned way, although they did make use of some newer inventions. There were only about three hundred people here, as such a small village didn't really need more than that. There were never any visitors, because the town was framed on the north, east, and south by huge, impassable mountains, which went high enough that the air itself seemed to freeze, creating beautiful, crystalline structures that dissolved if breathed upon. The west was not much better, being covered in a dense, thick forest, full of thorny bushes and animals that had never learned to fear humans. Only the villagers knew the single safe path through the forest, and they never told outsiders. The path twisted and turned, leaving a normal person hopelessly lost and confused, thus easy pickings for any of the animals of the forest that cared to dine on human flesh.
The village itself was ran by the oldest person in it, Eruderu. He had been the 'mayor' of the village for over a hundred years, and even the oldest residents only remember him as a frail, old man, so his age must be quite high indeed. He was frail physically, but mentally was as strong as ever. He still had complete control over his faculties, and enough experience that nothing seemed to surprise him anymore. Nothing, that is, except for Miquelet's disappearance ten years ago. He had been surprised by that, for he had held great hope in her marrying his son, Corrin. He had never bothered to explain himself, just saying that it would be for the best for the entire village.
As Samui slowly drifted deeper into reverie, he recalled how he and Miquelet first found themselves in this village, so many years ago.
Samui had always been alone. This wasn't out of preference, it was out of necessity. His powers over freezing were'nt under control yet, and anyone who got close ended up losing a finger or worse. He had learned this at a very young age, and so tried to avoid contact with anyone. One day, when he had wandered out of the nameless city where he was currently staying, wanderlust struck him. Leaving his meager possessions, he set forth, not knowing or caring where he went. He continued this for years, and eventually found a deep forest. He walked into it indifferently, sure of his own safety. That was when he saw her. A half-elf infant, left at the foot of a tree. He knew that he couldn't help it, so left it alone. It began to cry, desiring, nay needing human contact and help. Sighing, he turned towards it. He knew that if he touched it, it would surely die. But left alone in this dank orest, it would perish anyway, and a much more painful death at that. So, feeling merciful, he extended a finger, and touched the babe on the forehead. Nothing happened, however, except for the infant reaching up to grab his finger in the manner all babies do. How could this be? Samui had never been able to touch anyone before! Now, an infant was holding his hand? He didn't even try to understand, but picked the baby up, and carried her with him.
As time passed, she grew into a quiet, unassuming girl. He never named her, because he had no intention of remaining with her past the point where she could take care of herself. She choce the name 'Miquelet' herself, not knowing it's meaning, just choosing it for the sound. She believed he was her older brother, and went everywhere he did. Samui didn't particularly mind the company, as he had never had much of it before her. He let her believe he was her brother, not wanting to destroy the only 'family' she had. They continued travelling, when Miquelet felt attracted to a forest. It was the same one where Samui found her, all those years ago. She insisted they enter, so, reluctantly he did, wondering what could possibly be within.
Sure enough, they somehow managed to find the village of Intoku, where the elder, Eruderu welcomed them hesitatingly. He acted as if he knew they would be there, in fact it seemed the whole village did. So Samui and Miquelet made this village their home, and remained there for several dozen years. Over the course of time, Samui learned how to control his powers, so that the other villagers didn't have to avoid him. Miquelet studied under Eruderu, who taught her the ways of summoning elemental forces.
Samui felt that this was a place he could come to call home, so he remained, forgetting his vow to leave Miquelet once she didn't need help from him. With this, he also decided to forget he wasn't her brother, and consider them true family.

Looking up, Samui noticed the village immediately ahead of them. He had navigated the entire forest unconsciously, surprising himself greatly. To those on the outside, he appeared much the same as always, however. Despite having lived in the village for so long, he had never learned to be open about himself. The other villagers understood this, and left him as he saw fit to be.
It was night-time, and everyone was asleep, so Samui directed Miquelet to their house, which had been built for them after they had stayed in the village for a year. After showing her to her room, he went to his own and went to sleep.

Dawn rolled around, and Samui awoke instantly, feeling the light shine onto his eyes. He stood up, and readied himself to meet with Eruderu. Once ready, he left the house, leaving Miquelet to her sleep, and walked purposefully up to Eruderu's house. It was noticeably bigger than Samui's, but that wasn't out of a sense of power. It was because Eruderu always wished to have rooms for guests, so that anyone could stay and speak of their problems. Samui walked in, confident that he would already be awake. Sure enough, Eruderu was sitting at a table, enjoying a mug of coffee.
"Oh, Samui? Back already? You brought your sister, I presume?"
"...yes..." Still never one for talking, Samui was as curt as ever. Eruderu didn't seem bothered by this, as he had gotten used to it over the years.
"Well, where is she now? We should get started right away."
"...sleeping..."
"Is that so? Well, I suppose we can wait, then. There are many preperations to make, anyways. There's the ritual, and then the wedding! Finally, it will happen..." Eruderu seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if recalling something important.
His business done, Samui got up and walked out the door. Eruderu called after him, saying "Samui! Make sure she's awake tomorrow morning! We'll hold the ritual then!"
Samui nodded, and continued out of the house. He went over to an area of the town that was still hardly in use anymore. It was a small mountain near the same range that held the village in, but it was more than that. This was the mountain where the ritual would be performed. As such, there was an expectant air about it, as if the mountain itself, or something within it, knew what was happening. Samui stood there for a moment, and thought to himself on the ritual.

As he stood at the base of the ritual mountain, Samui could still feel a pair of phantasmal eyes watching him, wondering if he was the one. He ignored their gaze, and remembered the time when Eruderu had first told Miquelet and himself about the ritual.
Miquelet had finished all of her book studies, and had finally captured her first elemental. It was the element that she was most aligned with, and would grow in strength as she did. She had went to the base of the mountain, and stayed the night. When she came back, it was with her, showing it's acceptance of her as a elementalist. She had gone to show Eruderu, and he informed her that to be a true elementalist, she would need to have many more different spirits, so that they may each accept her, and help her. He sent her out, alone except her spirit, to find and bind the other elements to herself. She was gone for several months, but when she returned, she had completed her purpose. She now possessed many different elemental forces, some of which even Eruderu hadn't, such as emotion or sleep. Eruderu checked, but there was one element suspiciously absent, that of Darkness.
When he asked, Miquelet admitted that she was unable to find a darkness element outside of the village, but she sensed one within the village itself. Eruderu realized this was the village's guardian, but for Miquelet to sense it would mean that it wished to be sensed. He pondered, and decided that must mean that Miquelet should bind it to herself, and the village would eventually receive another. It was at this time that Eruderu introduced Miquelet to Corrin, his son. He informed the two of them that they would marry, and their child would be the next heir to the village. Corrin was ineligible for he had no power to summon, and the village leader always had been. Miquelet herself wasn't able to be the leader, because the leader was always a man. Eruderu hoped that if they had a child, the child would both be male, and possess Miquelet's high level of skill.
This was the ritual that she would attempt again tomorrow, that of the final elemental. She had gone to perform the binding the same as always, but she was not prepared for it's sheer power. She managed to escape with her life, but was ashamed at her failure, so she left the village. After time had passed, Eruderu had sent Samui to bring her back, and he had done so. Now the ritual could be attempted again. Samui suspected that Miquelet had strengthened herself, but he couldn't tell how much. He did know that there was something bothering her, but didn't pry into her for details. It seemed to be about the marriage, but she had never evinced interest or lack thereof before she left, so something must have changed while she was away.
Satisfied for the moment, Samui left the mountainside, and returned to the main part of town. Just after he left, a pale shadowy presence manifested itself for an instance, and flickered out just as quickly. Samui went out to the fields, and helped in the orchard, as he had done before he had left. He worked methodically until dusk, and lay at the base of the tree where he had finished. He ate an apple, and went to sleep right there, unconcerned with anything noticeably.

Samui walked in silently, as the last vestiges of Miquelet's voice disappeared. He had heard the last section, but didn't concern himself with it. If anything was bothering her, she would eventually sort it out. He hoped it would be soon, for if she went to complete the ritual without focus, then she could become hurt. Samui didn't want that, not when she was so close to fulfilling Eruderu's wishes. He looked at her, and noticed the faint tear stains on her sleeves. Unfamiliar emotions welled up within him, and he grabbed a spare blanket, and put it over her shoulders. Although he never felt the cold, he knew that she did, and that it could be dangerous. He then went into his own room, and began to meditate on all that had happened today, and all that would happen tomorrow. He knew that something of great significance would occur, but he couldn't tell what. He knew it was connected more to the ritual than the marriage, but he had never met Corrin before, so he couldn't be sure of this. Now that he thought of it, he didn't think Miquelet had ever met Corrin, either. It was always Eruderu who spoke of him, saying what the future would hold, but never saying anything about him. Samui suspected that this was because Corrin was a disappointment to Eruderu, since he had no skills in summoning. Samui dismissed this thought, however. Even if it was the case, that didn't change anything.
Blanking his thoughts, he went deeper into a trance.