Emberflame Ridge beginning of the end

a tale begins.

one whose fate has already been decided.
one shall die, and the other condemned for it.

but who will it be? in who does the balance of life and death tip in favor towards?

whose coat will be sullied with crimson?

that is what yet remains to be decided.

a man clad in dark lumbers through unfamiliar lands. guided only by a scent whose memory of its owner fades with each passing day. but, for once, the scent is at its strongest here. eyes narrow, he gazes upon the land that engulfs him — still in the lull of winter as spring barely begins to peak its head through melting snow. the coward that runs with tail tucked between legs has run into a crowd in the hopes of shelter. signatures of many wolves litter the environment. it would be a challenge to find his target.

but masa has already decided how this tale will end.