[Sea of Time]

EDIT: January 2, 2009

In this topic you will find the first finished draft of "Golden Sun: A Tainted War" and each chapter's respective comments/reviews left by GSSF's loyal members. This fanfiction has won GSSF's "Fanfiction of the Year" award two straight times. For those of you interested in reading an edited and completed version of this story, revised to my liking, you will find it on fanfiction.net at the link below.

Enjoy!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2897449/1/Gold...n_A_Tainted_War

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Well, hopefully some of you will read this, my advertising hopefully worked. I've been working on this story for about a month now and I have six chapters finished in print. Before I start on the actual story, I will give you a prologue, and a foreword in two days. I hope you all enjoy Golden Sun: A Tainted War

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Prologue

A pigeon lifts up from an oak tree and circles the remnants. Sol Sanctum left in shambles after the Golden Sun rose once again eight days before. The pigeon lands on a smooth rock where the entrance to Sol Sanctum once stood, in lavish glory, made by sages many generations ago. The mountain side has been eroded away and the northern snow is almost visible from the low plains of Vale. The rubble of the remnants is made up of smooth rocks, as if the power of Alchemy itself crumbled the Sanctum. This is the way it is now, but the people of Vale vow to rebuild the town and start their lives anew, with the power of Alchemy at their side.
Suddenly, a low rumble is emitted from deep below the surface. The pigeon takes off at this abnormality. The earthquakes caused by Sol Sanctum had stopped all together since the lighting of the four Lighthouses and the rising of the Golden Sun. Another rumble is emitted, this one louder and stronger than the first. The rocks near the centre of the rubble begin to crack, forming a smooth crevice. Water, as if flooding from the ground itself, comes spewing out of the crevice. As the water flow begins to wax slightly, a blue-haired man levitates out of the crevice.
The man was dirty from head to foot in clay and had visible bruises on both arms and a large gash above his left brow. He looks up at the Sun and squints, “So it is real then, the Golden Sun has risen,” the man proclaims, speaking to nobody from himself, “How long have I been down here?” He tries to remember why but is totally oblivious to all that has happened in the weeks before, he has lost all memory of his past deeds. He looks around at his surroundings, and then looks due south and sees humans. The people appear to be building houses over the remnants of a town. He suddenly realized that he recognized two of these people, although he didn’t know how. He could not remember their names but there was a sandy-haired young man and a young woman who’s hair appears to be alight with flame.
“Isaac and Jenna,” he mouthed to himself. As he remembered their names, memories of the past started to hit him like a thunderbolt. His breath left him as everything came back. The Elemental Room, Saturos and Menardi failing at the top of Venus Lighthouse, Karst and Agatio dying to the power of the Wise One, the Wise One’s tainting of the Mars Star, the flooding feeling of failure as he fell thousands of feet to the ground. He caught his breath and felt a fresh wave of failure wash over him. He had not gained any power from the Golden Sun. He was the same Adept he always was. He felt the need to walk away to the west. He did not know where he was going, but he knew anywhere was better than here. He vowed to himself that the next time he returned to this spot, he will be more powerful than ever before. Then they will rue the day they believed they had defeated Alex, master adept.

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There will be a foreword coming in two days. See you all then.

[Eugine]

Great work SoT. I was actually waiting for this fanfiction. Nothing much is really revealed or *exciting* yet, but it's only a prologue.

[gsninja]

The prologue is pretty interesting. Makes you really wonder what's going to come next. Great job n.n

[Sea of Time]

Glad to have you guys onboard. I know the prologue told you absolutely nothing, but after a prologue comes a foreword! So, here we tell you of all the stuff that has happened in the past five years between the prologue and the body of the story. Enjoy! Chapter 1 is coming in two days!

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Foreword

Five years have passed since the rise of the Golden Sun. In that time, the magnificent town of Vale has been rebuilt and is prosperous in all that it does. All the people of Weyard now have the power of psynergy at their disposal. Most of their powers are weak, but the few powerful Adepts are respected by all. All eight of the Adepts are still in good health but have spread out across the world. Isaac and Felix still live in Vale, along with Jenna and the energetic Garet. Isaac and Jenna are now happily married and have a son, Grant. Ivan has said goodbye to Vault and now lives a happy life in Contigo with Hamma. Sheba lives in Lalivero, and is still good friends with Faran. Together, they speared the completion of Babi Lighthouse, which is now one of the greatest wonders of their generation. Mia returned to Imil. Though she is not needed as long as the Healing Water flows, she still helps the townspeople with all their problems. Piers does not have a fixed location. He sails the seas in the Lemurian Ship that he once helmed with the other seven. Kraden has passed on and now sleeps happily below his old house in Vale. His loss is mourned by all.
Many things have changed throughout the towns of Weyard as well. Tolbi and Kalay have combined their forces and are now joint cities. Their leaders, Hammet and Iodem, the successor of Babi have become good friends as well. Madra and Alhafra have also become joint cities after the Alhafran people overthrew the greedy mayor. On the continent of Hesperia, Shaman Village has opened its doors to all different peoples and has become a popular destination for tourists who wish to hear about the Adept’s race to the top of Trial Road and their legendary battle with Moapa. In the Northern Reaches, Prox has become a trading center to all of the Western Sea as it enters a new age. Finally, Lemuria has begun its long path to renewal but has been in turmoil since the death of King Hydros. Piers has been offered the throne but declined to continue his exploration. The throne is still open and there is a heated debate as to who will inherit it between the Senate and Lunpa. Weyard is ready, however, for something dramatic to happen. Mysterious forces are stirring and it is only a matter of time before their powers are unleashed upon the land. A Tainted War is about to begin.

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Well, let in two days, let the story (and my signature cliffhangers) begin!

[TheEnglishman]

I rarely read Fanfics but this is pretty interesting. There is only 1 thing that I don't like. Why did you let Kraden die? :P
Seriously though this is really good SoT!

[Aquamarine]

Yeah, it's very good! Can't wait to see the rest!
And I'm actually glad you killed Kraden. :P

[Sea of Time]

I almost forgot about this! Well, here it is Chapter 1. Enjoy (if anyone's actually reading it)!

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Chapter 1


“Isaac wake up!”
Isaac looked up and saw his mother over him looking concerned.
“The boulder is about to fall, you have to get up!” This is too familiar thought Isaac.
Suddenly, in the far off distance he heard crying. He looked around but didn’t see any infants.
“Isaac, wake up!”
“Come on Isaac, it’s your turn, get up.”
Uuuuuhhhh, leave me alone…
“Okay, that’s it.” Isaac jolted awake as his left shirt arm was lit afire. He looked up blearily and saw Jenna.
“Come on, you lazy beast,” she said lovingly, “It’s your turn to change Grant.”
“Do you have to set my shirt on fire?” asked Isaac.
“Would you get up if I didn’t?” retorted Jenna. Isaac grunted, got out of bed slowly and looked out the window. The sun was still low, it was just minutes after sunrise. He walked out into their hallway and walked to the end and entered the room. There he saw his pride and joy, his son, Grant, in the crib that Felix had made for him. Isaac smiled as he thought of how much work Felix had put into it. Grant, however, was not so happy. He looked up at Isaac with wet eyes and started to bawl even louder.
“Okay, okay, what’s wrong,” he walked up to Grant and his nose filled with the smell of a full diaper, “Ohhhh, that’s what’s wrong.” He picked up Grant and took him over to the changetable which was given to him by his mother. Isaac recalled that twenty years ago, he was the one who’s diaper needed changing and his dad, Kyle, was the one doing it. Pride swelled inside him as he thought of his father doing this.
He pulled off the diaper and was greeted by the unwanted aroma of Grant’s waste. “Man,” he said, “What has your mother been feeding you.”
“I heard that!” said Jenna from the other room, “Just change him and stop complaining.” Isaac grinned, this is exactly how their relationship worked. She was a scroundrel, but a lovable scoudrel at that, thought Isaac. Isaac took the diaper over to the garbage bin as a knock on the door was heard.
“Jenna, could you get that? I’m tending to Sir Stinkalot over here.” Called Isaac.
“I guess so…” she grumbled, muttering all the way to the door. The doorbell rung again. “Alright,
alright, I’m coming,” said Jenna as she opened the door, “Oh, hey Garet.”
Garet had not changed much in the five years since the quest. He was still bulky, childish, and a little immature. Garet walked into Grant’s room and as the smell hit his nose, he wrinkled it and commented, “Geez, Isaac, still doing the dirty work around here?”
Isaac laughed, “Yeah, family life is a lot of work. How’s living with your mom?”
Garet scowled, “Oh, Isaac you were always so serious, what happened to you.”
“Her.” Answered Isaac, laughing.
“Yeah, Jenna does that to people.”
“I heard that!!! You guys should keep it down when you’re talking about me!” yelled Jenna from the other room.
“Hahaha, always the eavesdropper, eh, Jenna?” shouted Garet in a booming voice.
“Oh quiet you,” she answered as she walked into the room, “So, how was Lunpa last night?”
“Okay, I met a nice woman named Fiara but she was a total bomb.” Answered Garet. Garet wasn’t married and he spent his nights in different towns looking for women, “She really wasn’t my type.” “Oh well, you’ll find someone.” Said Jenna with care.
“Yeah, your Mom won’t keep you forever.” Laughed Isaac.
“Oh, shut up Isaac, that joke’s starting to wear off.” Said Garet smirking. As Isaac was about to retort, there was another knock on the door. Isaac signaled that he would get it and walked out of the room, “Always the hero,” said Garet as he left. Isaac ignored this remark and opened the door. Felix stood in the doorway. “Hey Felix, how’s it going?”
“Isaac, there’s a letter that was sent to Vale this morning,” said Felix seriously, “it was sent by Tolbi, I think you should read it.”
“Sure, I guess, I’ll meet you in town square. Just give me a minute to tell Jenna and Garet where I’m going.”
“I think they should come with, this concerns them too.”
Isaac was surprised how concerned Felix seemed about this, “Alright.” About ten minutes later, the four of them met in town square. The psynergy stone was still there even after the destruction of Vale five years ago. The centre of town was rebuilt to be the same as it was before the destruction. Felix was there and he handed an envelope to Isaac, “Read it,” he said.
Isaac opened it and was stunned as he read the letter. “This is unbelievable.” He said quietly.

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Haha, and so the cliffhangers begin. Chapter 2 on Friday y'all!

[TheEnglishman]

You have at least one reader SoT!
This is pretty good. I liked the way you have the same lines which start Golden Sun off. Cleverly done. Can't wait for the next one!

[Eugine]

Not bad. I'll continue reading it. ^^

[Blue]

Awesome man. I really like this fanfic.

[TheEnglishman]

I thought chapter 2 was going to be done yesterday. Where is it?

[Sea of Time]

Sorry for the wait, guys. Life got in the way. I will be rewarding you now with the best chapter, in my opinion, yet. So, without further ado...

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Chapter 2

To the town of Vale and its residents,

The city of Tolbi is undergoing changes. We feel that our place in Weyard is unacceptable to the superiorism we possess. We have combined the forces of Tolbi with forces from towns across the Eastern Sea. The towns we have allegiances with are Kibombo, Naribwe, Madra, and Alhafra. Also, we have severed our ties with Kalay. Therefore, we control all land in between the borders of these towns.

We acknowledge the power possessed by Vale in the form of the eight adepts that lit the Lighthouses five years ago. We would like to possess this power and we can acquire it in one of two ways. We are extending a hand to you. If Vale and the eight adepts join our “empire” we will spare you from unnecessary bloodshed. If you refuse we will declare war on the whole of Weyard that is not within our empire.

We have powers you cannot imagine. You do not want to test us. You have a fortnight to respond.

Iodem

Isaac read it aloud to Garet and Jenna. “I don’t understand,” Garet said, “Iodem was supportive of us on our quest to Venus Lighthouse. What’s all this about an empire?”
“And why haven’t we heard about this before?” asked Jenna, “Tolbi could not have possibly possessed all this land right under our nose.”
“They have been very secretive as of late.” Remarked Isaac.
“What are we supposed to do?” asked Garet.
“We need more information.” Commented Felix. Isaac thought about this as the others gave ideas about what to do.
As Isaac thought he felt a force inside his head. He suddenly felt faint. He felt as if he was falling thousands of feet, falling towards his death when…he stopped. He felt a voice fill his head.

Isaac.

Isaac, it’s Sheba.

Since we last saw each other, I have gained the psynergy of Telekinesis. That is how I’m reaching you. You cannot respond while I speak to you. I feel the worry that fills you. I have left Lalivero since I heard about Tolbi. I am now traveling to Kolima. If you wish to meet, we should meet there. We must regroup the eight. We will plan that there. Meet me there by nightfall tomorrow. I will sever our tie now, I expect you.

“Isaac, Isaac?” Isaac looked up to see a concerned Garet. He saw that he had fallen to the ground and was lying flat on his back.
“Are you okay?” asked a concerned Jenna.
“I’m…I’m fine.” Said Isaac wearily.
“Man, you went out like a light, what happened to you?” asked Garet.
“Sheba…contacted me.” Answered Isaac.
“How could she do that, she’s miles away from here in Lalivero!” exclaimed Felix. So, Isaac explained to all of them how he had been contacted and he told them what Sheba told him. “So…we go to Kolima than.” Said Felix., “We had better get started, Kolima is a day from here if we move fast.”
“Who will take care of Grant?” asked Jenna, concern written on her face.
“We should talk to my mother,” said Isaac, “once she knows what we are doing, she will be more than willing to take Grant in while we are away.”
“Okay, let’s go to your place then.” Said Garet. As they walked up, Isaac thought about why Tolbi would send a threat like that to Vale.

There’s something going on here, Garet is right, Iodem has been our friend throughout the time we’ve known him. Something must have caused a change of heart. Before we agree or disagree, we have to find who or what is behind this.

~~

“What’s wrong?” asked Doris, concerned.
“You all look concerned about something.” Commented Kyle.
“Read this.” Said Isaac. As they read Tolbi’s letter, their faces looked more and more grim.
As he finished reading this Kyle looked up and commented, “This is not good, what are you going to do?”
Felix answered the question, “Before we make a hasty decision, we are going to Kolima to speak with Sheba. Our short term goal is to get the eight of us together before the week is over.”
“An impossible task to be sure.” Said Doris, apprehensive.
“We must do this, all eight of us must make this decision, not just the four of us.” Said Jenna. “Mom, we came here to ask a couple of favors before we leave,” started Isaac, “we need someone to take care of Grant while we are gone. You are the greatest caregiver I have ever known and it would honor me for you to take care of him.”
“Of course, honey, I will be happy to.” Answered Doris.
“Thank you, Mom. We should be leaving before nightfall so we can make it to Kolima before nightfall tomorrow,” Isaac said, “Dad, goodbye.” Isaac hugged his mother and his father.

They spent the rest of the day preparing for the journey. Isaac freshened up on his psynergy and prepared his DarkSword for battle. He slipped on the Cleric’s Ring which had saved his life on many occasions. As the sun set, Isaac made one more walk through town. He passed Kraden’s house, where six years ago, he was preparing to climb Sol Sanctum for education. The events that followed were, up to this point, the most hectic and exciting of his life. He thought about what the next fortnight would bring. How were they going to get the three remaining adepts back within the next week? As his worries filled him, he was suddenly jolted by a rush of energy. The energy washed over him and Isaac knew that he was ready for another quest.

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Well, I won't keep you waiting this time. Chapter 3 in two days, all!

[TheEnglishman]

Better late than never!
Liked the chapter but I don't think its the best like you do. It's pretty good but I liked the prolouge more.

[Sea of Time]

I'm going to be one more day, all. I'll edit this post with Chapter 3 tomorrow.

[Saturos S.]

Sea_of_Time, on Oct 18 2005, 06:59 PM, said:

I'm going to be one more day, all. I'll edit this post with Chapter 3 tomorrow.

OK, looking forward to it, havn't replied on this topic yet so I must say good work, I absolutely suck at story writing

Keep up the good work (god, does that sound like a teacher or what XD)

[Sea of Time]

Yes, yes it does.

Extremely sorry, everyone, but it will be at least a week until the next chapter. Hopefully you guys can hang tight. Thanks for your support so far.

[Sea of Time]

Okay, here's Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

As the sun disappeared, behind the mountains in the west, the four adepts met in town square. “Alright, guys. Do you have all you need?” asked Felix. Isaac, Jenna, and Garet solemnly nodded, “Make sure you have your djinn as well,” Added Felix, “They’re an indispensable asset.” The three of them nodded again.
“Okay, let’s get started, we’ll travel to Vault first then.” Said Isaac. And so, with that, the four of them touched the psynergy stone to replenish their powers. Isaac’s energy filled as he touched his index finger to the stone. Then, they walked out of their hometown once again, setting out for another quest. As Isaac looked back he recalled the different circumstances of what lied ahead of them last time they left the town. That time they had no idea what lay ahead of them except that they must pursue Saturos and Menardi.
Those were different times, thought Isaac.
As they followed the trail in the dark they encountered a few weak monsters who were defeated easily by their team. Isaac marveled at how easy the psynergy to him even after five years without a battle. Finally, after about an hour, Vault was visible even in the dark of night.
“Let’s rest for the night here.” Said Garet, yawning.
“I wish we could, but we must get at least to Bilibin,” Answered Felix, “We are only stopping to Vault to find out what or if they know about the goings-on in Tolbi.” Garet scowled but Isaac knew that he understood.
Isaac looked over at Jenna. Even in the dark, she looked white. Isaac put his arm over her shoulders and reassured her, “Everything’s going to be alright.”
Jenna kissed him on the cheek and answered, “I know, thank you.” As they approached Vault they saw that there were two figures at the entrance. As they got closer they saw that they were holding spears.
“Who goes there?” one of them asked as they lowered their spears at them.
“My name is Isaac, this is Felix, Jenna, and Garet,” answered Isaac, “we are friends of the mayor, perhaps you have heard of us.”
“Oh,” said the other, “I’m sorry sir, it’s just we can’t trust anyone today.”
“Have you heard of what’s happening in Tolbi then as well?” asked Garet bluntly.
“We’ve more than heard of it, but perhaps you want to talk this over with the mayor.” Answered one of them.
“Yes, but we are in a hurry, could you take us to him?” asked Felix politely.
“Follow us.” They walked up the staircase and along the raised pathway until they arrived at the mayor’s house. One of the villagers rapped on the door three times in quick succession. They heard a gasp from inside the house, and the creaking of a chair. The mayor opened the door and looked at the villager worried.
“What’s the matter?” asked the mayor, clearly afraid for his life.
“I have brought four visitors for you.” Answered the villager. The mayor squinted in the darkness, “Isaac? Garet? Is that you?”
“It’s us, mayor,” answered Isaac, “Please let us in, we are in a bit of a rush.”
“Alright,” Said the mayor, stepping out of the way to let them in, “Good to see you Jenna, and you Felix.” Felix nodded and Jenna walked into the house without any gesture.
Felix shut the door behind him, looked at the mayor, and said, “What is the matter, mayor, we have never seen you put up security for the town. What have you heard?”
“It’s a long story. Take a seat, I will try to make it short as I know you have places to be,” the mayor sat down in an armchair next to the fire. He stoked the fire and the flames started to strengthen, “Two days ago we got a letter from Iodem, the mayor of Tolbi. It stated that they had joined forces with towns across the Eastern Sea and that they had formed what they called an “empire” of sorts. They threatened Vault and said if we did not join them, they would be forced to invade our town!” There was silence for a few moments.
Jenna, surprisingly, was the first to speak, “Mayor, Vale has also received an open threat from Tolbi and it’s affiliates. The letter gave us a fortnight from yesterday to respond. If we declined they would launch a war on the rest of Weyard that was not yet on their side.”
The mayor, clearly shocked, answered, “A fortnight! We were given three days to respond! Why were you given so much longer?”
A confused Garet asked, “Why is that? It would only be fair to give them the same amount of time as we got!”
The mayor answered him, “We also did not get a threat saying they would start a war on all of Weyard either.” All was silent as the five thought out the reasoning behind this.
Isaac looked up first, he knew what was going on, “I know what Tolbi is doing. They are planning on expanding their empire before we get a chance to respond. They have probably sent invitations like this to different small towns across Angara and Indra. If they expand their domain, they will have a better chance to win against our forces.”
The mayor looked at Isaac for a moment and then asked, “What do we do? I do not want to join but our town cannot fight off the forces of Tolbi.”
Felix answered, “Wait until the last day and send your answer before sunset. You must say yes, it’s the only way your town will survive. You must give us time, though. We are going to get the eight of us together and then plan from there.”
The mayor nodded, “This is a good plan.”
Isaac looked at the others, “We have ground to cover. We must make it to Bilibin before morning comes. Thank you mayor for your time, we hope to see you again when all of this is sorted out.” “May the elementals bless you on your quest.” Said the mayor. With that, they left the mayor and set out again to the northeast. Isaac knew that they now had more reason to hurry.
Things are coming together for Tolbi faster than we expected. We must get the eight together as soon as possible. Weyard will suffer if we do not.

~-~

Two days till Chapter 4.

[TheEnglishman]

The plot thickens... It's good but I know it didn't take me an hour to get from Vale to Vault! :silence:

[Sea of Time]

And I don't think they were sixty feet tall either! This is real life now.

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Chapter 4

As they walked out from Goma Cave, the blinding sunlight flooded their eyes. It was morning and they had made it to Bilibin. They decided not to go in so to avoid the mayor. They continued east, quicker now because they were in sunlight. Finally, in a couple of hours, they had made it to Bilibin Barricade. Most of it was still intact but it had now been passed so often, it was permanently open. By midday, Kolima was within sight. As they approached, they saw the town was in much better shape than the last time they had been there. Last time, as Isaac and Garet told Felix, they had had to save the town from Tret because he had turned them all to trees. Felix grinned at this, saying that it was marvellous that they took the time to help them with, in retrospect to their quest, such a small problem.
Isaac laughed at this, “We lost several days on you just by taking that detour.” Isaac was surprised at their good spirits going into Kolima.
“So, where is Sheba?” asked Garet.
Isaac, to be honest, had no idea. Suddenly, he felt a sudden urge to check the caves underground where they had found a djinn many years ago. “In the cave.” Said Isaac, sure now that’s where she was. So the four walked into the back of the house Isaac and Garet had walked into many years ago. As they entered, the cave, they saw a familiar face, Sheba was standing at the bottom of the ladder. She looked much different then the last time they had seen her. Her hair had grown and she now kept it straight. She was much taller and she now wore a small ring on her right index finger. “Hello, old friends.” She said, smiling. They all hugged her and then backed away, ready for some news. “What I have to say will give us a good idea as to what we should do next. First of all, Tolbi has now gained control of Lalivero. Faran had no choice but to join forces with them. All of their soldiers are tired from completing the Babi Lighthouse. This means that Babi Lighthouse has become the center for all of Tolbi’s military. It is near the centre of their empire as well. Within the next few days, all of Gondowan and Indra will be under their control.”
Garet stopped her, “How are they doing this, I realize their soldiers are powerful but not powerful enough to hold a whole continent captive.”
Sheba nodded and continued, “The soldiers, in the past five years, have become much more powerful. They possess psynergy from all four elements and in battle, they do not tire. The only way to stop them is to kill them in one blow. Their psynergy is not strong, but they recognize the weakness of the opponent and attack it with fury. I fought off ten of them, as I fled Lalivero.” “How can, all of a sudden, they possess power from all four elements?” asked Jenna.
“This, I do not know,” answered Sheba, “I do know that the spread of Alchemy has something to do with it, but that is not the only factor and I cannot guess the other.”
“So, what do we do?” asked Garet.
“There is only one way we can make that decision and that’s with the eight of us combined.” Answered Felix.
“I have good news on that subject,” commented Sheba, “I have contacted Ivan, who, as you know, has the teleport lapis. He has teleported to Imil, to get Mia. They are on their way here, as we speak. We are to meet them at the eastern edge of Mogall Forest. There, we should meet with Piers who will bring the Lemurian Ship.”
“From there, we should go to Lemuria to seek counsel from King Hydros.” Said Isaac.
“That is a good plan, he might be able to us. Lemuria has powerful water adepts, which could help us in our war.” Said Felix.
Sheba then said, “We must start to the Mogall Forest, I imagine by now, Ivan and Mia have reached Fuchin Temple. They will be in Mogall before the end of the day. Sadly, I do not have the power of Teleport so we must walk with haste.” So, they left the cave and continued south. There was not much distance left for them to travel. They would reach Mogall by nightfall easily.
“Sheba?” asked Isaac as they walked across a bridge, “how did you learn Telekinesis?”
“The Golden Sun gives all Adepts power, Isaac, perhaps you have not discovered yours yet.” Sheba said mysteriously as she walked ahead.
Hidden powers? This is getting more confusing every step we take.

~-~

I'll probably get Ch. 5 up this weekend.

[Mallick]

Bastages! How about posting it now? D: It's really good.

[Sea of Time]

Bastages? Can you explain to me what that means? Oh yeah, here's Chapter 5. As a side-note, this is the last chapter I have written, if inspiration catches me, I'll continue this story soon. I might need some serious motivation from you guys though, if you really want Chapter 6. But, without further ado, here's 5.

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Chapter 5

They entered the Mogall Forest, this time with no monsters to guide them. The four of them headed east at any oppurtunity and though they got lost quite a few times, they’re psynergy got them out. Finally, the smell of sea air hit them and they knew they had made it. They stepped out from the last ring of trees and stood on a rocky beach. In front of them, were Mia and Ivan deep in conversation. “Hey guys.” Said Isaac, breaking their silence.
“Oh, Isaac,” said Mia, hugging him, “Felix, Garet, Jenna, it’s so good to see you all.” She hugged all of them in turn.
“Hey guys,” said Ivan grinning, “have a nice walk?”
Garet smirked back, “You Wind Adepts have it too easy, teleporting everywhere. If I could teleport, I would, and I would never walk again.”
“Yeah, you could get to Lunpa and back to your mother’s house in a blink of an eye!” said Isaac, laughing. Everyone else laughed. Even Garet smiled.
“It’s good to be together again.” Said Jenna. Everyone nodded at this comment.
“So, when will Piers be arriving?” asked Mia, clearly concerned at his absence.
“I’m sure he’ll be here beore midday,” answered Sheba, “I told him to arrive early today.”
“I’m already here.” said a voice. Everyone looked around wondering where the voice came from, it was clear that it was Piers but he was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, Isaac saw the outline of a ship on the edge of the water. Then, all at once, the ship flashed into view and so did Piers, standing in front of the ship.
“Piers!” said Felix, “How did you do that?”
Piers laughed, “I have learned to not only Cloak myself but the ship as well. I have become stronger, Felix, surely you as well.”
“No,” answered Felix incredulously, “you and Sheba have both grown since we seperated.”
“I’m sorry, Felix, I didn’t know.” said Piers.
Felix chuckled, “You don’t have to be sorry, I’m sure there’s something I have that you don’t. “Anyways, we have more pressing issues to talk about.” Isaac spoke next, “Piers, what do you know from traveling the sea.” Piers looked at the others gravely, “Much has changed across the world. I have traveled the Eastern Sea and have learned much about the spread of Tolbi’s forces. First of all, Tolbi has not yet reached the Apojii Islands or Izumo and they are unaware of all the goings-on at the mainland. However, Lemuria has heard about them. I have learned from my uncle that King Hydros has perished since we left.”
“What? How could we not know?” asked Ivan incredulously.
“I have only learned the news in the past month, it just happened as far as I know. The Senate has capitalized on his death and started to vote within each other for the throne. Lunpa is the only force that can stop the Senate from taking control of the throne. He feels that if the Senate takes the throne, they will probably be tempted by Tolbi’s offer. They may even accept. This would mean that our greatest ally would be under the control of our enemy.” answered Piers.
“So, our best plan would be to go to Lemuria then.” said Isaac.

“Right,” answered Piers, “We must make haste, though, the Senate is acting fast.”

~-~

[Mallick]

Bastages... I use it as b*stard. >_>

ANyway, short chapter. GIMME MOOOORE. D:

[Sea of Time]

x.x That was a short chapter. Oh well, I wrote Chapter 6 and 7 last night, so I guess I could post 6 a little early.

~-~

Chapter 6

The ship was of Lemurian make, with the dragon's head at the helm and intricate detail on every surface of the ship. It was one of only three ships of its kind outside of the kingdom of Lemuria. One was stolen by Babi after he entered Lemuria to get the elixir of life he so sorely wanted. One was owned by the outcast Piers, who shared with the other seven adepts, the Heroes of the Golden Sun. This ship was the last of those three. Once, six years before, Saturos and Menardi helmed this ship from their hometown of Prox to Vale, where they set off a cataclysm of events in the year that followed. After Saturos and Menardi were defeated atop Venus Lighthouse, the ship was lost in the small bay south of the Lighthouse. Laliverans learned of its existence and searched for it in the bay over the next three years, but to no avail. They came to the conclusion that only a powerful water adept, one upon the same level as Mia or Piers, could scour that bay and find the ship. But, there was one other water adept that the Laliverans thought to be dead that could find that ship...

Alex wheeled the ship around, heading due east. He smiled as the sun greeted him on the fine morning. The sunlight glinted off the water of the Eastern Sea, temporarily blinding him as he looked towards his set path. For five years he had wandered Weyard, trying to find a plan to exact revenge on the eight "heroic" adepts. Finally, six months ago, he found his idea. Tolbi, the home to the greatest soldiers in Gondowan, was very vulnerable. Iodem, who had taken over for the late Babi was regal and collected on the outside, but Alex knew of the confusion on the inside. Alex entered Tolbi and convinced Iodem to take hold of Suhalla. At first, Iodem was reluctant and did not want to create a disturbance but Alex continued to use cool words to poison his mind. Eventually, Iodem agreed and Tolbi easily took it for its own. Alex saw that Iodem liked what he saw. He wanted Tolbi to be more powerful. Then, Hammett, the leader of Kalay, part of the joint city that had been formed between Kalay and Tolbi, came to Tolbi. He was looking for answers as to what was going on and what the political benefits to overthrowing Suhalla were. Alex, seeing that Iodem was turning back to his former self as he realized the error of his ways, disposed of Hammett by ordering Tolbi soldiers to murder him. Alex then sent a letter to Kalay telling them that the joint city treaty was disposed and they were now under the control of Tolbi. If they disagreed they would be invaded and destroyed by soldiers of Tolbi. Alex then convinced Iodem to give him full control over Tolbi's Military operations. Iodem agreed and Alex then ordered the soldiers to overtake other cities such as Kibombo, Naribwe, Madra, and Alhafra, arming them with psynergy of all four elements. Tolbi's military numbers grew, but there was still one place they had not overthrown, Lalivero, a city with the second largest military force in Gondowan. The fight for Lalivero was the hardest fought of all. Many soldiers were lost on both sides, but eventually, the psynergy granted to Tolbi's soldiers proved too powerful for Laliveran soldiers to handle and they were overthrown. Alex then moved his central military location to the newly captured Babi Lighthouse. The Tolbi Empire was nearly complete.

Alex knew that now was the time to try to kill the adepts. He prepared a trap for them that he knew they would not miss. First, letters of treason were sent to Lemuria and all the villages of Angara including Vale. Alex knew that once Felix and Isaac received this letter they would try to regroup and go to Lemuria for answers.

Fools, thought Alex, the take over of Lemuria is already complete. They are heading right towards their death. Alex smiled as he thought of their dead bodies. He had been waiting a long time for this day. He took a deep breath, smelling the salty air of the sea and sped the ship towards Lemuria. He wanted to see first hand the demise of his long time enemies.

It won't be long now before they realize the grievous mistake they've made.

~-~

Well, I hope you enjoyed that slightly longer chapter, Chapter 7 will be coming soon!

[TheEnglishman]

That was pretty good! Poor Hammet, getting killed off. :o

[Sea of Time]

Alright, thanks for pointing that out. Here's Chapter 7.
~-~

Chapter 7

Isaac stood at the helm of the ship, watching the fog roll alongside them.
"Getting to Lemuria should be a lot easier this time," said Piers from the wheel of the ship, "the Sea of Time has disintegrated since we defeated Poseidon."
"That's good." said Isaac. He wasn't really listening to Piers, his mind was on other things. He looked down upon the ripples of water as the ship's bow glided across them without even a wake. Isaac decided to head inside to see how Jenna was doing.
He opened the door to the inside of the ship, and saw the others sitting around the table, solemn, without a trace of conversation. They all looked up as Isaac entered the room.
"How far?" asked Garet in a monotone.
"Only about an hour," answered Isaac, turning his gaze upon Jenna, "Can I talk to you Jenna?"
"Sure," she answered. Jenna got up from the table with a creak of her chair, nodded at the others and followed Isaac to the basement.
"How are you?" asked Isaac.
"I'm fine." answered Jenna in an unconvincing tone.
"Is it Grant? Are you worried about him?"
"No, I'm sure Dora is taking good care of him."
"What is it then?"
"...It's this whole journey, Isaac, I can't believe this is...happening."
"Even now? After all the information we've received you still don't believe?"
"No, I just don't know why Tolbi of all places would create an empire."
"Me neither, they always seemed peaceful."
"Isaac, I don't know why I'm afraid. Do you think we should be going to Lemuria? I have a bad feeling." said Jenna, in a curious tone.
Isaac pondered this, "I'm sure it will be fine. Lunpa will help us, just like last time. And if things don't go well?" Isaac looked in her eyes, "you have me, and I'll always be there."
Jenna smiled and they kissed before returning to the deck to be meeted by Piers.
Piers grinned at the others, "Welcome to Lemuria." The ship was now inside a cavern and Piers was navigating it through sharp rocks and pillars as only a true Lemurian could. Finally, he stopped the ship in between two docks. The eight of them slowly unboarded the ship and walked towards the light outside of the cave. Isaac squinted as the light hit his eyes.
"It's so much brighter." he commented.
Piers replied, almost giddy with excitement, "Lemuria has finally started on its long path to renewal. Look around you, Isaac, everyone." The concrete fences which were detailed with Lemurian art, were no longer covered with ivy and lichens as it was last time they arrived there. Shadows were cast by the fences and momentarily saved them from the glare of the sun every three steps. They approached the entrance, expecting two guards to be there as they were five years ago. To their surprise, however, there was no guard there and the entrance was left unblocked.
"Has Lemuria let their guard down?" asked Felix of Piers.
"Not that I know of. My brothers are usually guarding the entrance to Lemuria." he answered.
"Walk with caution," said Isaac then, "perhaps Tolbi's take-over is closer to being finished than we foresaw. Head straight for Lunpa's house, no detours." They then went up the stairs for the main centre of Lemuria. As they left the staircase they were greeted by a surprising sight.
First of all, the city was much cleaner and brighter than it was five years ago. All undergrowth was gone from the concrete and it was white as snow as the Sun gleamed upon it. In the distance, the palace shone with beauty that Isaac had never seen.
"Kraden would have loved to see this." said Jenna into Isaac's ear.
"It's spectacular." he replied, nodding.
"Wait a minute," said Garet then, "where is everyone?"
In all the renewed splendour of the City, Isaac did not notice that there was nobody here. Nobody at the fountain, nor the cemetary, or even outside of the houses.
"This doesn't look good," said Felix uncomfortably, "let's get back to Lunpa's house quickly."
They walked quietly east towards the house they had found five years before. As it came into sight, they saw that it too was much brighter than before. Isaac tested the front door, it swung open easily, much unlike five years ago, when Lunpa had to slam himself into it just to move it an inch. The front foyer was empty.
"Lunpa, it's us, the adepts." said Isaac, with no answer.
"Lunpa! It's I, Felix!" said Felix loudly, also with no answer except for an echo.
"Come on, let's check the living area," said Piers. They walked into the living area, which looked quite the same as last time except for one detail. Lunpa was lying facedown on the rug, lifeless.
"Lunpa? Lunpa!" cried Isaac in despair. Lunpa did not move, "Mia!"
"Yes!" said Mia, rushing up to him and immediately tapping her psynergy healing Lunpa.
"Isaac, it's too late he's..."
"Dead." said a cool voice from the doorway. Isaac and Felix wheeled around at breakneck speeds. Alex was standing in the doorway, an evil grin spread across his face.

This post has been edited by Sea_of_Time: 30 January 2006 - 12:08 PM

[Sea of Time]

I finally have Chapter 8 written. Don't kid yourself, I haven't been working on it this whole time. I've been doing other stuff. Now I finally have some spare time, though, and I will continue the story, hopefully to it's finish. I'll edit this post with Chapter 8 later, I'm at school right now.

~

Chapter 8

He sat silently on his throne, the room around him red with blood. Severed limbs lay in heaps, shattered swords and helms tossed into the corners. He buried his face in his hands, tears falling from his face. The doors opposite him creaked slowly opened and he slowly moved his head to look.

Her.

"Now do you understand?" she asked him.

Yes! Yes! I am so sorry for everything. he wanted to say, but his mouth betrayed him once again.
"I understand nothing." he said loud and powerful.

"You have taken over Gondowan. You have taken over Angara. You killed these civilians who only wanted to talk sense! You...you killed my husband," she choked on her tears, but continued in a composed voice, "I will ask you again. Do you understand?"

Please you must understand me. It's him. He made me do it! I understand! I am so sorry! Tears spilled down his face and onto his shirt as he looked into her face, a look of composure hiding the pain and sorrow.

He answered her, choking on every word, "I...understand...nothing."

"Then you must die, Iodem. You must die for the sins you have committed and the lives you have taken away." she picked up a black sword from the floor, blood stains covered the blade, this was his blade, given to Iodem.

No! It's his...Do not attack me. He...him will make me...kill...

She screamed as tears poured down her face. She ran at him with the sword pointed directly at his heart. He remained on the throne, face buried in his hands, his body hiding the terror he felt on the inside.

I did not kill your husband! He did it! He made...do not attack me! he thought with fear and frustration.

The sword came within inches of him before he jumped with inhuman speed, and snatched the sword from her grasp. He turned and looked at her, shock written everywhere on her face.

No don't...Alex...

"Your husband committed treason. He did not comply with my demands. Hammett deserved death for this and now so do you, for the same felony."

"Iodem...no"

No...

But it was too late, he flicked his wrist effortlessly, sending the sword shooting directly at her. The sword pierced her directly in the heart. She fell to her knees.

On her knees, she looked at him, grimacing with pain, "Iodem...do not...give in."
She then fell to the floor, dead.

He looked at her with a look of disgust that once again hid his true emotions, and went back to his throne. He sat down and buried his face in his hands once again.

Alex...only you deserve this. Only you deserve death.

He wept again into his blood-covered hands, not for the last time.

~

This post has been edited by Sea_of_Time: 30 January 2006 - 12:08 PM

[Sea of Time]

I'm still writing but nobody's reading...

Chapter 9

Isaac almost felt faint as he looked down at Lunpa's dead body, then up at the evil grin on Alex's face. Alex almost looked exactly the same as last time Isaac had seen him, except now he had a huge scar above his left brow. As the reality of his return set in, questions came to his mind.

But it was Felix, not Isaac who broke the stunned silence, "You..." he said. His voice was not of surprise, which Isaac had expected, but filled with cold fury.

"Felix, my old friend." said Alex cooly, taking a step towards Felix.

"Stay away from me," answered Felix, "you're no friend of mine."
Isaac looked at Felix, then over at Alex. Felix was clearly disgusted and angry at the sight of their old foe. Alex, on the other hand, was smirking, clearly amused at Felix's unexpected emotion.

"Felix, after all we went through, how can you be so hateful?" Alex said sarcastically.

Isaac spoke now for the first time, "How dare you mock him. After what you did to him? You attempted to use the power of Alchemy for your own tyranny!"

"Isaac you and your little friends shouldn't even have been involved in what happened five years ago. Your petty pursuit of Saturos and Menardi only caused a setback that was easily fixed."

Mia spoke now, her voice trembling, "We...trusted you Alex and you turned against us."

Alex turned to look at her, and Isaac swore he saw him give her a look of care, "Mia...you cannot fathom the power that the Golden Sun brings. I had to have this power, I had to climb Mt. Aleph. I would have that power now if it wasn't..."

"For the Wise One." Isaac finished. Alex turned his head and gave Isaac a look of pure hate that made the hair on the back of Isaac's neck stand.

"The Wise One gave you the power that was rightfully mine," he spitted at Isaac, "my power!"

"But..."

"Yes, I have learned that you apparently don't have any new powers," answered Alex, with fake pity, "this is exactly why you must be taken care of. All eight of you, before you realize what you have."

Felix laughed, "There is only you, Alex, you cannot possibly hope to defeat all eight of us."

"Felix, you are no less nieve than you were five years ago. You don't really think it's a coincidence that there is nobody outside in all of Lemuria."

"What are you talking about." growled Felix.

Alex smiled, "The Senate has already taken Tolbi's offer. Lord Conservato is now King Conservato."

"We're too late?" asked Ivan.

"There was never a hope for what you were trying to achieve. Lunpa was the only opposing force to the Senate after Hydros died and you can see what they did to him," Alex laughed, "Lemurian forces were going to march on Vale to kill you adepts. How happy they will be to know that they won't have to go anywhere. And I'll be pleased to be the one to tell them you're here."

"You..." growled Felix, rushing at Alex pulling out the Sol Blade which glimmered as it was pulled out of it's sheath. Alex effortlessly sent a water jet at Felix, pummeling him in the chest, sending him flying and crashing against the back of the wall.

"Felix, you must learn to control your temper. Well, I've overstayed my welcome here. Good luck with the Lemurians!" Alex laughed hysterically, then faintly glimmered and disappeared.

"What do we..." started Isaac, but he was interrupted by a crash from the hallway. A lone Lemurian stepped into the room. Isaac noticed that the Lemurian's eyes were glazed and he looked oddly familiar.

"Uncle?" said Piers, looking at the man.

Piers' uncle spoke, "You are under arrest for treason of the Empire. The punishment is death."

~

[Toasty64]

I've been reading. You should really continue, it's got a very good storyline.

[Split Infinity]

Sea_of_Time, on Jan 31 2006, 05:05 AM, said:

I'm still writing but nobody's reading...

I can tell you for a fact that I am. ^ So is Toasty here. Keep going with the series, you seem to have stopped all of a sudden.

[Sea of Time]

I have because I assumed nobody was reading it, well I'm happy to see that some people are. Please keep the comments coming and I would appreciate some constructive critique as well. I'll write Chapter 10 as soon as I can.

[Sea of Time]

Here is Chapter 10.

~

Chapter 10

“Uncle, what are you doing?” asked Piers almost incredulously.

“The punishment is death.” Repeated Piers’ uncle, in a haunting monotone. Isaac looked out the window into the foyer and saw at least a dozen Lemurians waiting for a reaction from them.

“Uncle, why don’t you listen to me? This is not what you wanted, Lemuria is a free land, you weren’t with Conservato you wanted to keep it that way.”

Again, he looked Piers in the eye with a dull gaze and repeated, “The punishment is death.”

He walked towards Piers, opened his hand, and raised his palm to the sky. Isaac saw a faint blue glow coming from the palm. He knew what Piers’ uncle was doing.

“Piers, watch out!” Isaac yelled. Piers jumped out of the way, just avoiding the water jet that his own uncle had sent at him.

“What are you…” said Garet, but was cut off as another water jet was fired at Piers.

Then, Felix raised his own hand and said in a strong voice, “Ground.” The spirit of a djinni appeared in front of him and then rushed at Piers’ uncle. It surrounded him in a cage and it appeared that he could not move, he was frozen in his spot.

“Alright,” said Felix, “that’ll hold him for a while. Let’s get upstairs, the other Lemurians will realize soon what happened. We have to get back to the ship.” The others nodded as they ran for the stairs at the back of the room. They got upstairs and ran out the door, onto the deck on the second floor. Isaac looked down and saw that there were now at least fifty Lemurians waiting at the door.

Almost as if they sensed the adepts arrival, they all turned their head up at exactly the same time to stare at the eight of them with glazed eyes. Isaac felt his breath catch as he realized that it would be near impossible to get out of Lemuria alive. Then, as if coordinated, they all raised their palm at the same time.

“Get down!” yelled Isaac and all eight of them ducked their heads and fell to the cold ground. A huge water jet hit the edge of the deck and blew pieces of stone everywhere. With a crash, the front of the deck fell, exposing the adepts to the obsessed Lemurians.

Then, as if a fire was relit inside the adepts, they stood up, knowing that if they did not fight, they would die.
Isaac looked around at them, “You know what we have to do. We must stand and fight.”

“But these are innocent people,” said Mia, “we can’t just kill them.” Piers nodded his approval.

“Then do not kill them, immobilize them, injure them, but we must get out of this city alive at all costs. We are the only hope now.”

With these inspiring words, all eight of them turned their heads to face the Lemurians, a newfound sense of justice lit inside all of them.

Isaac was the first to attack. He raised his palm, “Grand Gaia.” There was a low rumble from underneath the ground, and without warning, rocks flew from the ground hitting the Lemurians, pinning some of them to the ground. Another water jet flew from the uninjured ones. This time, the adepts were not ready. The jet hit Sheba right in the chest, sending her flying into the wall behind them. She grimaced and fell to the ground, unable to get back up.

“Mia, heal her!” yelled Felix, as Ivan now sent lightning raining down on them. After the Spark Plasma’s barrage was over, the Lemurians looked up at the adepts with a different expression then the one before. They were smiling. Isaac looked incredulously at them. The adepts had injured and immobilized a dozen of them, they were clearly losing, and yet they were smiling. Isaac could see that they were all looking at Ivan. He looked over at Ivan and saw a look of fear on his face. Then, suddenly, all of the Lemurians raised their palms again. There was another low rumble, but this time it was coming from underneath the adepts. The earth underneath them started to shake, a light shake at first, but it quickly intensified. Isaac could not stand up and neither could the others. The shaking rattled him to the very core of his being. Just when his knees started to give out, it ended. Isaac, on his hands and knees, looked around. Ivan and Sheba were lying on the ground, knocked out by the blow. The others were struggling to get up. Felix, however, was already crawling over to Ivan and Sheba.

“I’ll….heal them.” He said slowly. When he arrived at their lifeless bodies, he raised his palm, “Revive.” He whispered. First, he revived Ivan, and then Sheba.

“What…happened?” asked Ivan to noone in particular.

“They…are the same as the ones from Tolbi,” answered Sheba, still lying on her back, “they know all psynergy. They have…been changed.”

“Are you saying,” said Isaac, “that they know psynergy from all four elements?”

Sheba looked at him, “Yes.”

Isaac felt a sinking feeling in his chest. There was no way they could get out of here alive. Too much had changed. Isaac felt all hope leave him. He fell to the ground, and the world went black.

~

[TheEnglishman]

Woah I'd completely forgotten about this story! Keep up the good work!

[Toasty64]

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooo, When's the next chapter coming out?

[Split Infinity]

Whenever I read the name of your fanfic, Sea of Time, it reminds me of that song 'Tainted Love'. :)

Bom, bom, bom, bom, doo...doo...

[Sea of Time]

*stares*

Well, it's good to see you back Me111.

I'll write Chapter 11 tomorrow.

[Toasty64]

Well it's tomorrow already. WHERE IS IT!?!?!?

[Split Infinity]

Tomorrow isn't over yet. Hold ya seahorses.

[Sea of Time]

Honestly, I want to make this story as interesting as possible, and right now, I have no idea where it is going other than a typical predictable plot line. I need a few days to figure out how this story will end before I continue writing.

[Split Infinity]

Pardon me for sounding blunt, but shouldn't you have done that before you started writing?

[Toasty64]

Ah just leave him alone, he'll get the next chapter out when he's finished with it.

[Sea of Time]

Split Infinity, on Feb 26 2006, 06:28 AM, said:

Pardon me for sounding blunt, but shouldn't you have done that before you started writing?

I did do that before I started writing but now the storyline just seems too predictable to continue. I want the story to be the best that I can make it, so I'm changing it up a little bit.

[Toasty64]

I think it's fine the way it is, but if you think it'll make it better.

[Split Infinity]

This is starting to sound like Max's Feedback topic...shall we go along with a boring storyline, or wait it out for something cooler?

[Sea of Time]

I think I have a good idea, I'll post Chapter 11 sometime in the next couple of days.

[Split Infinity]

Lookin' forward to it.

[Sea of Time]

Here's Chapter 11. Thanks to everyone for waiting with patience (mostly)

~

Chapter 11

The world went black...

The darkness was complete. It was finite, without end. Isaac was falling for what seemed like an eternity. The darkness continued around him and binded him, suffocating him. Isaac was lost within his mind. As he fell, he saw images of a woman lying on the ground, dead, a black sword pierced her heart. These flashes continued. He saw a man with his head in his hands, weeping into them. Isaac recognized the man but could not identify him without seeing his face. Now, a blue-haired man in a grey cloak approached the man on the throne.

"I have done your bidding master." said the man on the throne, head still in his hands.

"Good," said the blue-haired man, "you have done well, Iodem."

"Thank you master."

"You have become a loyal servant to me."

"Thank you master, I live only to serve."

"It is a pity that I no longer have a need for you."

Iodem stood up, looking horrified at the blue-haired man for a fleeting second, but promptly bowed his head.

"I will die for you, master."

The blue-haired man then drew his sword, it gleamed blue and the color on the sword rolled as if waves were captured in the blade itself. He pointed it at Iodem, and with a flash, he struck.
Isaac caught his breath. The darkness was still there, though. Now, however, he could hear distant voices, as if calling him.

"Open your eyes, open your eyes..."

Isaac tried, but found he could not, he was binded by the surrounding darkness.

"Open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes..." said the voice, which Isaac discerned to be a young woman's.

I can't

Suddenly, Isaac could see a light. It was small, very small, almost obsolete. But it began to grow, and as it grew his heart was filled with a new feeling, a feeling of hope. Isaac knew while there was still life, there was still a chance for freedom from the darkness. The light grew and grew until finally...

Isaac opened his eyes.

He saw Jenna over him, looking at him with an unblinking face of concern.

"Isaac?"

Isaac moved his lips, but could not say anything. He was at a loss for words.

"Are you alive?"

Isaac was surprised at this obvious question. He nodded and smiled. Jenna's face changed to pure joy and she threw herself on Isaac, embracing him. He hugged her back as he looked at his surroundings. He was in a bed, in a small room, which appeared to sway back and forth slowly. He was back on the ship, but...

"How?"

Jenna broke the hug to look at him, "What?"

"How...are we on the... ship?" asked Isaac slowly, "The battle...."

"Felix and I were able to cast a summon that stunned most of them," she answered, smiling, "we were able to escape."

"What...happened to me?" asked Isaac, trying to sit up, but a sharp pain in his head made him lie back down with a groan.

"Oh!" cried Jenna, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, my head..."

"You got struck in the head by a rock from that Earthquake. We thought you were in a coma."

Isaac nodded, he knew this must have been it. He rolled away from Jenna, remembering what he saw while he was out.

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting her hand on his side.

"Nothing," said Isaac. He was stricken then with an idea, "Jenna?"

"Yes?"

"Can you get Sheba for me? I had a question for her."

"Of course!" she said happily, getting off the bed. As she opened the door to leave the room, she looked back at Isaac, "I love you."

Isaac rolled over to look at her, "I love you too, Jenna." With a smile, she left the room, closing the door. Isaac rolled onto his back to think.

Was that dream real? Was Alex really going to kill Iodem?

Just then, Sheba came into the room, concern written on her face.

"Isaac, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm feeling better." Isaac answered.

"Why did you call for me?"

"Sheba, when I was out. I had a dream. Or I thought it was a dream. It felt more like some sort of...premonition."

"What was it about?" she asked, concerned. And with that, Isaac told her the whole of his dream. He was able to recall most of the dream, but for some reason, could not remember the setting of the conflict. It was as if it was completely removed from his memory.

"So what do you think?" asked Isaac after he finished telling her the dream.

"I think that, under the circumstances, what you saw was very real."

"Are you saying that..."

"That Alex killed Iodem? I am almost sure of it," she answered, "but what concerns me is how they conversed with each other. You said that Iodem called Alex, 'master'?"

"Yes..." said Isaac, not understanding where Sheba was going.

"Hmmm, I think Alex might have more of a role in this then we had expected." she said, turning away from Isaac.

"Are you saying that Alex is behind all of this?" asked Isaac incredulously.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to talk it over with the others."

"Alright." said Isaac. Sheba made for the door and opened it, but before she left, Isaac was stricken with a question.

"By the way, Sheba" he asked stopping her, "where are we going?"

"We're going back to Vale," said Sheba with a grin, "I think it's about time we respond to Tolbi's letter."

[Split Infinity]

Long chapter. I was expecting something more spectacular, but oh well, it's still a neat cliffhanger.

[Toasty64]

Yup, so when's the next chapter?

[Split Infinity]

That's not the end, is it? Nooooooooo! <_<

[Sea of Time]

No, it's not the end Split and please stop spamming. I can get Chapter 12 posted by Monday. I'm writing it on paper right now. I hope you all can wait because the story can only get better.

[Toasty64]

I Can't......................................IZ TEH COMUN RUME!! Awight!!

[Split Infinity]

God dammit Toasty, stop saying that, it's really getting irritating.

[TheEnglishman]

I like the way the story is progressing. As I've said before I don't usually read Fan fiction but this is pretty good.
Wow a post relevant to the story! Hasn't it been awhile!

[Sea of Time]

Thanks for the compliment, Me111 and I agree that there is too much spam in this topic. Please keep posts to criticism or I will report you. I am going to be unable to post the story today because of personal reasons. I'm not going to make any more promises and hopefully you will see Chapter 12 before the middle of the week.

[Split Infinity]

Lookin' forward to it.

Btw, did you just say to keep posts to criticism? So you don't want us to say anything positive?

[Sea of Time]

No, there is constructive criticism as well. But I enjoy compliments too, you can post those. :wacko:

[Sea of Time]

Here's Chapter 12. Sorry for the delay.

Chapter 12

They spent two more days on the sea. Isaac used the time to recuperate and heal his head wound. With Mia's help, by the end of the trip, his head was perfectly healed and he was able to walk again. Jenna was particularly thankful for this and seemed much more cheery to the others than usual.

"At least she's not as sarcastic with you around." Garet whispered to Isaac on the last night as they watched Jenna happily humming to herself as she washed the dishes.

She turned around to look at them, "Garet, you should have realised by now, you don't know how to whisper."

Isaac laughed and Garet blushed as Jenna gave him a sly grin and returned to her work. Isaac went outside and looked over the rail at the water, which was darkening as the last of the Sun's light diminshed over the horizon. Isaac felt as if something horrible was about to happen but brushed off the feeling quickly. He had been having this feeling in the pit of his stomach since they first left on this quest.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Felix standing behind him. "Are you alright?" he asked Isaac, not making eye contact with him, staring out to sea.

"Yeah." said Isaac, looking at him.

He looked at Isaac now, "I know what you feel, because it what I feel as well."

Isaac stared blankly at him, "What do you mean?"

"Something is not right in Angara. I feel in my gut that something terrible has happened." Felix answered, staring out at the pale sea.

Isaac looked out at the sea now, "You know what I felt when I was passed out in Lemuria? I was alone in darkness, binded by my fears and insecurities. I did not feel anything except the panic of a man on the brink of death. I had horrible visions, of the past or future, I cannot say. But what I do know is that hope released me from my bindings and saved me from my fear. I felt in my heart that there was still hope as long as there was life. Now I know that whatever crosses our path, we will be able to fight because as long as there is blood flowing in my body, I have hope." Isaac finished. Felix stared at him for what felt like an eternity, then turned and walked away, without a word. Isaac watched the ripples pass for a few moments, thinking about their conversation before calling it a night and heading off for bed.

The next morning came all too quickly for Isaac, who had not been getting very much sleep since Lemuria. The contents of his 'vision' were repeatedly playing in his mind over and over, so much so that he could not get the rest he so desperately desired. However, as the morning light shone through his window, Isaac knew there was a new hope for their group.

"Land!" yelled a distant voice from the deck. Isaac quickly got out of bed, pulled on a robe, and ran out to see for himself. As he opened the door, the sea air hit his face and his senses were awakened. He could see now, in the morning light, with the Sun reflecting off the calm water, why Piers loved the sea. Isaac looked over at the helm and saw Piers, looking off the starboard side of the ship, to the west. Isaac followed his eyes, and in the distance, he saw two mountains, land. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. He would be happy to get his feet on dry land again. He walked over to Piers.

"Where are we landing?" he asked Piers, who turned to face him, clearly happy at their arrival.

"We'll be landing at Champa, just north of it actually." Piers answered.

"Champa?" asked Isaac, suprised by the choice. Felix had told him of the type of people who lived in Champa.

"Look, I know that there are unfavorable folk in that town, but if we land at the Ankhol Ruins, a mountain will seperate us from them. We should go unnoticed."

Isaac nodded, "Alright, how are we getting to Vale then?"

Piers answered, "There is a passage through the mountains behind the ruins that takes us right to the Lamakan Desert. From there, we head north, follow the path to Bilibin, turn south and head for Vale."

"That sounds like a solid plan, my friend. I just want to stay as far away from Tolbi as possible for the moment. I am not ready to fight yet."

"I don't think any of us are." answered Piers. Isaac left him, heading back down to get changed and suit up.

When he got back, the ship had been docked, and all eight of the adepts were on deck, prepared to start. Ankhol Ruins was visible in the distance. Ivan was deep in conversation with Sheba in a corner, but the others were quietly and solemnly getting ready for the journey ahead. They all looked up as Isaac arrived.

"Alright everyone," said Felix, "let's get started. We need to get through the ruins first to get to the passage. I'll lead the way."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they left the ship, starting the second part of their journey back home.

~

[Blue]

Nice.
Since Spring break is coming soo I expect one everyday now.
Just kidding :blink:

[Sea of Time]

Yeah, I might even slow down on Spring Break. But thanks for the compliments guys. I have 13 written on paper, and that means I should have it on forum any day now.

[Split Infinity]

So what happened to chapter 12?

[TheEnglishman]

What are you talking about Split? It's on this page.

[Split Infinity]

What the hell? Where did that chapter come from?! That's creepy...

[Sea of Time]

Alright, I'm finally ready to post Chapter 13. Hopefully this one won't catch Split off guard. I'll post it after school today.

[Split Infinity]

I think I was looking at the bottom of page 4 for some reason. Silly me.

[Sea of Time]

Alright, Split, whatever you say. Here's Chapter 13.

~

Chapter 13

The Sun was directly above of them when they arrived at Ankhol Ruins. The Ruins were surrounded by dry grass, plains, with no undergrowth to hinder travelers. Behind the Ruins, mountains loomed high above any other visible landmark.

“Piers will lead us from here,” said Felix, suddenly, “he knows the way”

Piers answered, “From what I remember, there is a hidden exit on the west side of the Ruins that leads to a path to the Lamakan Desert.”

Felix continued, “We are about a week from Vale right now.”

A sudden, obvious idea struck Isaac just then, and he was in disbelief that nobody had mentioned it before this, “Why don’t we just Teleport to Vale?”

Everyone, looked at Isaac, then turned to Sheba.

She answered, “I had a vision on the ship. It was broken up and hard to decipher. I saw a man on a throne for a second, then a blue-haired man. I saw him speaking to another man, who was cast in shadow. He told the man that he must prevent the adepts from using Teleport. The man in the shadows nodded. Suddenly, I woke up from a noise outside. I saw Ivan standing over me, and he told me that the Teleport Lapis had shattered in the night. There’s no way we can use Teleport now.”

Isaac was shocked at this news. Clearly he had missed much when he was passed out on the ship. “I had no idea…” he said quietly.

“I don’t quite understand how the men in my vision shattered the Lapis, but I’m sure they must have done it,” commented Sheba, “but my mind is filled with confusion.”

“Now, let us continue,” said Felix, “we have lots of ground to cover while the day is still alive.”

And so continue they did. As the Sun continued to move slowly to the west, they entered the Ruins. Piers navigated the halls of Ankhol more masterfully than Isaac had ever seen. After five years of navigating the Eastern Sea, Piers must have memorized it’s many locations, Isaac guessed. Finally, they came to a hallway that was much different from all the others. This one was made of the same brick, but there was no light, no torches on the walls. And Isaac could also feel a draft coming from the end of it, something he hadn’t felt for at least a few hours. Piers and the rest of the party moved swiftly to the end, but to most of their surprises, it was what appeared to be a dead end. Piers was determined, though. He called Felix over to him, and pointed to a small crevice in the corner of the wall, just large enough to provide room for Felix’s hand.

“Alright, ready?” commanded Piers, “pull!”

Felix then pulled on the wall as if it was a sliding door, and it started to move. Suddenly, light shone through and momentarily blinded the adepts. As their eyes adjusted to the sunset outside, they all hurried forward to help Felix get the secret door open. It was not long before the door was completely open. Ahead of them lay a narrow, dirt path, with mountains on either side. There was just enough room for them to fit one by one down the path. At the end of the path, a red Sun prepared to set in the distant west.

They hurried down the path that now lay before them. It appeared to continue forever in a straight line. The rock on either side of the path was smooth in appearance and to the touch, as Isaac discovered. The walls of stone rose high up, so high that the sky was just visible through a narrow crack at the top of the path. It gave Isaac the feeling that the walls were closing in on him, but the feeling left as he focused on moving forward.

“It was cut out,” said Piers, from the head of the group, “by adepts many years ago. Probably about the time of the sages.”

“It’s amazing.” commented Ivan, to the agreement of others.

With the sunset in the distance, the minerals in the stone shone and glimmered. As they got farther down the path, painting started to appear on the rock walls. They depicted many people gathering, with palms raised, burning through stone with intense flame. Isaac marveled at how powerful they must have been to have the fire psynergy with the power to burn through stone.

The path continued for about an hour. Finally, there was an end in sight, and the Desert was in view. The Sun had finally disappeared, and the sky turned pale as the night approached. When they arrived at the end of the path, Felix tapped Piers on the shoulder, looked back and signaled for a break. Everyone looked relieved at this and sat down with their backs to the rock.

Felix stood up then to talk, “The Desert will be too hot to travel through quickly in the morning, we have to get through it tonight before we stop.”

Nobody showed it, but it was quite obvious that this wasn’t the most well-received news. Ivan slumped a little bit, but for the most part, the party kept their composure. After about five minutes, they got up, and prepared to continue. As they left the path, the vastness of the Desert hit them. Bones lay everywhere, gleaming in the moonlight. Isaac was surprised by the temperature of the sand, it was warm, but it was much cooler than when they last traveled through it, six years ago. It was a simple journey for the group, as Isaac assumed the lead, having the most experience with Lamakan. After about three hours, they were out, and they soaked in the mountains one again, as they reached the land surrounding the town of Altin. They found a small cave inside one of the mountains, with enough room for all eight of them.

“I guess we can rest here.” said Isaac.

And with that, everyone crowded into the cave, and started to unpack their things. Garet and Jenna set a small fire with some firewood they found at the back of the cave from former dwellers. They all warmed up from the cool night outside, but it was not long before they were drowsy. Isaac set up a makeshift bed near the back of the cave, and it was not long before he fell asleep.

He slept without dreams that night, and woke up feeling refreshed for a new day of travel with the Golden Sun above them.

~

[Split Infinity]

Good job SoT, this has got to be the best story I've ever read on the internet.

As for the last four words, I assume you are referring to the normal sun and not the Golden Sun, right?

[Sea of Time]

*sigh* I can't tell you that. It's called foreshadowing, stupid.

[Toasty64]

That's pretty good! It's better than the fifth age. (Another fanfic on a different GS site)

[Sea of Time]

Thanks guys for the compliments. If you guys are looking for an even better fanfic than this, (not that I'm suggesting that you stop reading this one), read Dawn to Dusk. It's in this forum somewhere but it's very old. It's truly amazing.

[Split Infinity]

It looks good, but I don't have time to read it right now.

[Sea of Time]

It's about 44 chapters. Reading it is a project but you won't be sorry after you've read through it.

[Toasty64]

Yeah, if you printed out "The Fifth Age," you'd get about 126 pages. I've been reding it in my spare time, and I'm only half way through. The one thing that makes yours better is that it takes place in the real times, not modern, and it has a bit better plot line. But it also descibes battle scenes and such better. :P That's what makes it hard to judge between yours and it. There both really good.

If you wanna scratch it's surface, click here

Funny, it was made by marlin beta, ring any bells? It sounds familiar to me, but I can't remember why.

[PDM]

SoT, I was reading it on my old account, I'm gonna start again. All I remember was that it was pwnage.

[Toasty64]

I guess I should go read it then.

[Aquamarine]

I read the first 3 chapters of this fanfic a long time ago and then stopped. I totaly forgot about it! I was pleasantly surprised to see that you haven't abandoned this story, and I have read through it all just now. It's very good! Please keep up the good work. Can't wait to see what happens...

[Sea of Time]

Concerning the story, I should have everything through Chapter 16 on the forum by the end of Spring Break if I can find a computer I can use. Thanks for holding tight and I hope you all continue to read.

[Toasty64]

I'll read till the last chapater. Ya. It's dat good.

[Isaac53]

Get on with it. oh by the way I'm a new reader. + its a wicked fanfic SoT

This post has been edited by Isaac53: 23 March 2006 - 10:42 PM

[Sea of Time]

Here's Chapter 14 everyone.

~

Chapter 14

The morning came, and in the bright sunlight of dawn, they awoke, light pouring into the cave, filling all but the deepest recesses. The travel that day was as predictable as the last. They travelled the path they had set for themselves going east. They tried to stay out of sight from the towns of Altin and Xian, by travelling through the forests. Then they began moving north, as the day came to an end. They reached Mogall Forest before it got too dark, and decided not to enter in fear of getting lost. They settled into a grassy area and slept again.

The next day, they awoke early with rainclouds over them. As they travelled through the forest, the rain started to fall on them. The trees helped to cover them for a while but it wasn't long before they were out of the forest. The rain did not stop and they were soaked by the time they reached Kolima. They entered a forest north of the town and decided to wait out the storm. In luck, the storm ended within a few hours. The adepts then turned west and Isaac knew it would not be long before they arrived at Vale. They stopped that day on the shore of a stream a few miles west of Bilibin.

Felix smiled as everyone unpacked. Isaac hadn't seen him genuinely happy for a long time now. Felix turned to Piers, who was taking a few cups out of his bag, and commented, "I had no idea we could travel so fast. We could be in Vale before tomorrow night if Goma Cave allows it."

Piers answered, smiling, "This is good news, for sure."

Isaac smiled at the infectious high spirits in the camp. He took in his surroundings, he had not been able to see the plains in detail for quite a few years. The brown grass spread out across the plain for many miles. There were very few trees, but the ones that were there were huge. Their branches spread out wide and were some of the largest in this part of Angara. The stream they had stopped on was filled with crystal clear water, gurgling in a current heading in the opposite direction of the adepts, towards Kolima Forest. Under different circumstances, thought Isaac, this moment would be perfect. The rainclouds were long gone now and the last of the Sun was disappearing in the west, when Isaac suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Isaac turned around and saw Sheba standing there, looking worried.

"I need to talk to you." she said to him.

"Alright." he replied. In spite of the spirits of the rest of the adepts, Sheba did not seem to share in it. They walked about a hundred feet away from the camp before she turned to him.

"I'm worried if what we're doing is right, going to Vale. Ever since Kolima my mind has been telling me to turn around. Western Angara is holding something that I don't think we should disturb."

"What...did you see anything?" asked Isaac, disturbed. Sheba was rarely incorrect when it came to her visions but in this case, Isaac could not believe it.

"I didn't. Just a foreboding feeling in my mind." she answered.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Isaac.

"Because," she answered, "if you haven't noticed, Isaac, you are the emotional leader of this group.{"

"What? But Felix is clearly..."

"Isaac, Felix may be leading us, but he has no idea what he heads towards. He sees only evil in front of him, and he feels that it must be destroyed, so he pursues it. His emotions, no matter what they are, are always masking his drive to be the hero. Isaac, your emotions are pure. I'm afraid if I told Felix this vision, something bad would come of it."

Isaac was partially shocked by this insight, but part of him knew that this was true of Felix. "So, what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"I understand that you can't stop us travelling to Vale. I am just asking you to be aware of what we might find when we get there."

Isaac could not believe what he was hearing. Vale could be in danger? "Is this Tolbi's doing?" he questioned.

Sheba hung her head, "Question me not, Isaac. I don't know anymore than what I told you."

"I understand." said Isaac. With that, they headed back to camp. It was dark now, but there was still a small fire waiting for them. Jenna was there.

"What were you doing?" asked Jenna, suspiciously.

"We were talking." answered Isaac, attempting to evade the subject.

"You were 'talking' for twenty minutes." she said with a sly grin.

"She...was worried about the water supply for the rest of the trip." he said, being as convincing as possible.

"Right," she commented sarcastically, "Goodnight Isaac." She then turned over in her makeshift bed.

Isaac felt guilty for not telling her about what they really talked about but knew that she could not know...yet. The time here had been perfect, and he felt he could not disturb it. He fell asleep that night with the somewhat satisfying thought that they would be in Vale tomorrow, for better or for worse.

~

[Sea of Time]

Alright, here's Chapter 15. This is the last one for a while, just so you know.

~

Chapter 15

Isaac opened his eyes blearily. The Sun blinded him, and as it came into focus, he saw that it was still very early. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around. Everyone was sleeping, peacefully in their beds, except for Felix. He was sitting cross-legged facing the west, opposite the sunrise. Isaac got up and silently walked over to him.

"Hey." said Isaac.

Felix turned his head, somewhat surpised to see Isaac standing there, "Hey. You're up early."

"As are you." answered Isaac.

Felix turned his head back to the west, "What do you want, Isaac?"

"I want to know what's wrong. You urge us to travel faster everyday. You barely ever sleep. And you speak to me as if there's something always bothering you."

Felix sighed, "He didn't deserve to live."

"Alex?"

"He betrayed me and my family five years ago, almost leading to all of our deaths. He deserved death. Why is he back, tormenting us with his presence?"

Isaac looked at Felix, "I don't know why he has returned and I don't know how he is connected to Tolbi but what I do know is that we will exact revenge on him and make sure he pays for what he's done."

Felix nodded, seemingly unconvinced. It was just then, they heard a voice behind them.

"W'time'sit." mumbled a bleary Garet, eyes still closed.

"About time for you to get off your lazy ass." said Felix loudly, smirking.

"Hey, I don't appreciate that!" answered Garet just as loud. Now everyone was groaning and rubbing their eyes.

"I guess it's time to go." laughed Isaac. And after about ten minutes of preparing, it was.

They continued west and after a morning's travel, they had reached Goma Cave. To their surprise, there was a large boulder blocking their entrance. However, with the help of a simple Move psynergy from Garet, it was out of the way. After that, the cave was the same as when Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Felix passed through eight days ago. As they travelled, Isaac remembered that they were given a fortnight by Tolbi to respond to the letter. Another boulder blocked their path at the southern exit, but they dealt with it the same as they did the first. As they entered the light again, they were greeted by the late afternoon sun, and an orchard of trees. Isaac smiled and they continued on.

As they left Goma Cave, the sprawling plains of Angara continued. Felix turned them west and Isaac knew they were at the final stretch. They were almost there. They followed the road, meaning to stop briefly in Vault to collect news. They reached a brief incline in the plain. Isaac recognized this incline. It was one of the only hills to be seen in Northern Angara. From the top of it, you got a great view of the surrounding land. To the west, you can see Vault, a mile or so ahead. To the south, the keen sighted could spot Kalay many fathoms away. The adepts worked their way up the hill, and it was not long before they arrived at the peak.

Isaac followed his eyes west. The sunset caught his eye first, momentarily blinding him. Around him, he heard the others give a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my god..." said Jenna, looking to the west. Isaac followed her eyes and saw the most shocking thing he had seen in many years. The town of Vault lay ahead of them, but rather than the expected sight of the hotel and the many houses, there were only blackened fragments. The houses appeared to have been burnt to the ground, and the ruins lay fresh on the ground. There was a blackened circle of grass around the town. Vault had become a ruin. None of the adepts could move. They were rooted to the ground in shock.

"Who?" started Garet, his voice cracking.

"We all know who," growled Felix, "come on. Let's see if there are survivors."

After about a minute, the adepts gathered themselves, still shocked by this monumentous surprise. As they walked towards the ruin, Isaac's mind was filled with questions. Who could have done this? Why? Deep in his heart, though, he knew who did this, and when they approached the ruin and saw a note on a stake, he almost expected what it would say.

Felix ripped the note off the chest-high stake and read it aloud.

To whom it may concern,

The town of Vault has been punished by the Tolbi empire for not complying with our demands. Let this be a warning to any town who believes they can remain sovereign.

Iodem

Felix threw the note to the ground, "Damn it!" he yelled to the air. The adepts searched the town, but found no one. But, to their surprise, there were no bodies either. All they found here were remnants of the Vault peoples' former lives. Isaac was now very worried of what they would find when they came to Vale. After looking over the ruins, the adepts gathered outside the town.

"Why did they do this?" asked Jenna, tears in her eyes.

Felix kicked the ground, and replied, "They're trying to send a message to us."

"What will have happened to Vale?" asked Isaac.

"We can only hope that Tolbi kept their word on giving us a fortnight to reply to their letter." answered Felix.

"I fear the worst." commented Sheba, looking to the west.

"There's only one way to find out. Come! We must continue. We can weep and feel remorse when I know that my home is safe!" said Felix strongly. With these words, the adepts continued. It was dark now and travelling was a little slower. Finally, they came to the mountain that seperated themselves from Vale. They followed the road and Isaac knew that around the corner loomed Vale, their home. Isaac was so excited to see his home again, he assured the lead of the group, which Felix gave up freely.

Isaac was convinced that when he turned the corner and saw Vale, it would be lit up and inviting the adepts home.

It will be good to get a rest he thought.

Finally, the time came. They turned the corner in the road and turned north towards Vale. Isaac turned his eyes to the north and saw his home for the first time in a week.

His eyes were greeted by a horrendous sight.

Vale was on fire....

~

[gsninja]

Wow, very nicely wirtten. I love it. Hope the next chapter will be just as good.

[Ender503]

I like it a lot. Except, wasn't Issac's mom named Dora, not Doris? Minor, but yeah. Good work. ^_^

[Aquamarine]

Very interesting. Hope to see more soon.
But er... Why won't you be writing any more for a while?

[Sea of Time]

The first few chapters were written quickly, Ender, if I made that mistake, I apologize for the confusion.

[Toasty64]

Well hopefully we don't have to wait a month for the next chapater. ^_^

[Sea of Time]

It should only be a week or two. I'm finished the first half of the story with Chapter 15 and I have to round out my plan for the second half before I start writing again.

[TheEnglishman]

I like the ending to the chapter. It's a great cliffhanger! I hope the rest stays as good as it has been so far.

[Split Infinity]

Wow...what an incredible ending. I hope you manage to follow it through with something interesting.

[Sea of Time]

I'm working hard on Chapter 16 now. Huge surprises are in the future so don't worry about the story becoming boring. Look for the next few soon.

[Sea of Time]

Wow, this is a really long chapter. I couldn't break it up and I'll be lucky to get it all posted today. Hope you enjoy!

~

Chapter 16

Alex walked into the throne room with a regal step that came with being the leader of the largest empire in Weyard's history. He was wearing a white robe that shone light blue when the windows revealed the Sun to the room. Alex knew that with the empire's power at his whim, he was the most powerful man in all of Weyard, and his appearance reflected it. The throne room was empty but for one man sitting alone, cross-legged in the shadows. The man was clearly very old, with a white beard that helped to partially mask a care-worn face that had seen thousands of years go by. Alex knew this man was special in more ways than just his age, though. The man appeared to have an aura surrounding him, filling the room with strong psychic energy. When Alex approached him, he immediately felt the pressure on his mind to be opened. Alex was ready for this, and closed his mind to the old man. He grimaced at the thought of a weaker adept, an unprepared adept, being subjected to this man's incredible Mind Read ability.

This was not the only Jupiter psynergy this man possessed. No, certainly not. His name was Maskah, most powerful of all wind adepts. His life was a long story, to be sure, as he had been born during the time of the Sages. It was a story filled with triumph and failure. The man himself is but a legend now in Hesperia, but this was true since the day he was born.

Maskah was born to a single mother in Shaman Village. His father had died before he was born in what his mother called a sailing accident. From the day he was born, he was special. There was an aura of psynergy surrounding him that was apparent to any who came too close to him. The psynergy did not take form until later in his life, but the pressure on the mind was strong enough to be noticable. His mother took him to Shaman Village's healer to investigate this abnormality. The healer was surprised by Maskah's aura and great psynergetic ability. The healer told her that eighty years before, another baby was born with this aura, though surprisingly, it was significantly less. That baby grew up to be Totopa, one of the most powerful wind adepts in Weyard, and become the leader of Shaman Village. He was also one of the eight Sages. The healer congratulated her and told her with confidence that Maskah would grow up to be one of the most powerful adepts they had ever seen.

And so, Maskah grew up. And as he did, his competitive spirit became apparent. He would always challenge the other children to various tasks. Whether it was a race around the village, or which child could create the largest Whirlwind, it was always Maskah who won. Eventually, the other children got tired of losing to him and left him out of their challenges. And so Maskah became a loner, an outcast. He was seen as different by all the villagers and was rarely talked to. His mother continued to love him though, and nurtured him as he grew older. When Maskah was sixteen, his mother took him to Trial Road and showed him the statues of the great wind adepts who came before them. The minute that Maskah saw Trial Road, he knew that this was his chance to show everyone how strong he really was.

As a village rule, a man must have had to be twenty-five to challenge the leader on Trial Road. Also, as the leader was a Sage, there was an opportunity for Maskah to become one himself. Totopa, the leader of Shaman Village, was feared by the people because of his tremendous ability and was rarely challenged. There had not been a race at Trial Road for many years.

Maskah worked hard from that day on to hone his natural ability and achieve greatness. He would meditate in the Shaman Village Cave, alone, and practice his psynergy and swordsplay. He continued like this for nine years until finally his twenty-fifth birthday arrived. Maskah had been waiting his whole life for a chance to prove his worth and gain power. He immediately challenged Totopa to a race at Trial Road. Totopa was surprised by this challenge, but accepted it, wanting to give Maskah his chance at the village's leadership. Totopa was feared for his power but was a just and wise man in nature, worthy of his title as a Sage. He saw that Maskah was certainly strong enough to scale Trial Road, but was interested in how he would handle his almost power-hungry competitiveness.

At noon that day, the villagers all traveled to Trial Road and watched Maskah pass the Whirlwind test. Totopa and Maskah lined up with Maskah in the east lane. And then, they began. Maskah zoomed through the first floor easily.

Too easily he thought.

The second floor was just as easy.

This is Trial Road?

He became angry as he continued and found the next tasks just as easy, even the ones that required other forms of psynergy. He reached the clean air and the noon sun quickly, and scaled the cliff, arriving at the summit alone. He was furious. Nine years of training for this? It was simple! He could have done this as a child!

Ten minutes passed as Maskah worked himself into a rage. Finally, Totopa arrived at the summit and, without letting him say a word, Maskah attacked. He relentlessy attacked the leader with sword cuts, and followed quickly with a Twister and a Spark Plasma simultaneously. Totopa could not believe it. He was being defeated by a younger man, a man with impossible strength and psynergetic ability. Totopa was able to withstand some of the attacks but could not defend all of them, and he felt his life force leaving him slowly. In a final effort, Totopa charged Maskah with his sword. It began to glow with a wind aura as he ran faster. It was becoming in tune with his psynergy, he was about to use his ultimate attack. But before he struck Maskah, the light around them faded, and darkness surrounded them, stopping Totopa in his tracks. He looked at Maskah. The young man was clearly infuriated, and as Totopa stared at him, Maskah sneered at him. The darkness binded Totopa where he stood so that he could not move. He heard thunder coming from the dark clouds above them. Suddenly, lightning sparked from the sky, and fell to the ground, striking Totopa repeatedly. The shock and pure strength of the attack crippled him and he fell to his knees. The last thing he remembered seeing was Maskah looking down, a disgusted look on his face.

Maskah looked down at Totopa.

Pathetic. This is what it took to be a Sage? The strong should not falter like this.

He paused then, rage still coursing through his body.

Life is meaningless for him now, this is my time. My time to shine!

Maskah unsheathed his sword and mercilessly stabbed Totopa in the heart. The Sage slumped to the ground, eyes closed. He was dead.

He deserved this. thought Maskah He deserved death for being too weak. I cannot stand for inferiority.

And so he left Totopa's body there sprawled on the mountaintop and left, heading for the bottom. All of the people would be at the House of the Leader for a ceremonial passing of the headress that symbolized a new village leader.

But Maskah had no such intention of becoming the Shaman Village leader. He had greater aspirations. He left Shaman Village to journey to Sol Sanctum where he would become a Sage.

Immediately after leaving Shaman Village, he teleported to Vale and walked to Sol Sanctum. In these days, Alchemy had not yet been sealed away, but the heart of man had become corrupt with the promise of riches. It was only a matter of time before the Sages would make the decision to seal away the power. The Sages' home was in Sol Sanctum. This is where they would hold counsel on the decisions plaguing Weyard. Also, five of the eight (now seven) Sages had homes in Vale.

Maskah knew where to go, he had been told the legends of the Sages. Aspiring adepts had to travel to Sol Sanctum and acquire a unanimous vote from the Sages to become one of them. He arrived at the foot of the mountain. He looked up at the marvelous sight as lights from all four lighthouses came together to form one tremendous light. Maskah squinted an covered his eyes as he stood astounded at the sight. But his drive brought him back to reality and he entered the Sanctum.

He easily navigated the corriders and rooms and it was not long before he came to the Luna Room, the Room of Counsel. An eerie blue light lit the room. There was a round table made of marble, and around it sat seven men, their faces cast in shadow. The Sages did not reveal themselves to aspiring adepts until they accepted the adept. Maskah could not decipher who they were, but he saw that they were all very old.

Old and weak. thought Maskah to himself.

"We have forseen your arrival." said one of the Sages, with a deep voice.

"I am..." started Maskah.

"We know who you are and your purpose in coming here, Maskah of Shaman Village." said the Sage in an almost angry tone.

Maskah did not speak, but waited for them to speak, to accept him.

"Tell me, why did you kill Totopa?" asked the deep-voiced man.

Maskah was not phased by the question, "I could not tolerate his weakness. He was too easily defeated, and under my rule, he did not deserve life."

"Your arrogance surprises me. How did you think that we could accept you as one of us when you have just murdered one of our brethren?"

"You also should not tolerate such insignificant strength! You should be more wise and choose stronger adepts to become Sages."

One of the Sages stood up sharply, "Do not question our decisions! He was a Sage because he was wise and compassionate towards others! He knew how to handle his power, unlike you."

"I have heard enough," said the deep-voiced Sage, "you will not become a Sage today, and not ever."

Maskah could not believe what he was hearing. He looked around at all of them, "Have you no judgement of strength? I could defeat all of you if it was my whim! I defeated one, I could defeat you all. You have no power against me. Have you no..."

But he was cut off. His wrists suddenly became bound and he was flung to the wall behind him. He tried to move but was binded to the wall by both wrists and ankles.

"How dare you kill one of our sacred brothers and then come here to threaten us," said the deep-voiced man in a dangerous whisper, "You will serve punishment in the depths of the Earth, never to be released until the seal is destroyed."

"The...seal?" asked a pained Maskah.

"Tonight, we will be sealing away the power of Alchemy. For the good of mankind. But you, you will never see a world without Alchemy. You will never see the light of day!"

And with that, the Sage took out a sword and butted Maskah in the head with the handle, knocking him out.

Maskah awoke after what felt like forever. He opened his eyes, but found that it was just as dark as when his eyes were shut. Blindly in the dark, he felt out his surroundings. He was in a large, bare room he discovered, as he felt the surrounding walls. The floor was made of sand, but the walls and ceiling were brick. He was clearly underground. On the far wall, he found a door, but it had no handle and was sealed shut. He felt out markings on the door and deciphered that there was a Sun imprinted on the door. He reached for his sword to try to wedge it open but found it was not on his belt. It was gone. So, he resorted to psynergy. He tried to blow the door open with a strong Twister but that did not work. He tried to splinter the metal with Plasma but it just rebounded off, narrowly missing Maskah. He tried all the psynergy he knew but nothing budged or even scratched the door.

In a last effort, he threw himself against the door, but only injured his shoulder as he fell to the floor. He was trapped, trapped in the darkness.

Maskah lay on the ground, without tears, for hours thinking about what had just transpired. Still, he felt no remorse for what he had done. He only felt anger at the Sages for doing this to him.

For two days, he lay there feeling furious at what the Sages had done to him. He was hungry and cold, but for some strange reason he didn't feel any weaker. He decided to work on honing his psynergy.

Maskah vowed that when the seal was released, if that were ever to happen, he would show the world what strength really was.

And so, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. Maskah trained relentlessly, he needed no sustanance. It became obsessive after two years. He could not stop. He honed his Mind Read ability to be part of his aura and persona. He no longer had to focus to use that psynergy. But when he did focus on the ability, he taught himself the ability to take control of another mind.

He became stronger than any other adept, but he also became older. However, even after a hundred years passed, he felt no yearning for death and his body allowed him to continue training.

Thousands of years passed and Maskah still lived. His psynergy had peaked and he lived his life half-awake, half-asleep in the darkness, without thought.

Then, the day came. Maskah was sitting in a corner when there was a faint glow from the Sun on the door. Maskah was blinded by this glow and closed his eyes, willing the light to leave.

But, the light did not leave. It grew stronger and soon, it filled the room with light. Then, the door opened and the shadow of a man appeared. Maskah could not open his eyes, the light would not allow it. The man at the door did not move, and Maskah slowly adjusted his eyes, even after thousands of years without light. Finally, Maskah opened his eyes a sliver, just to see his surroundings.

There was a blue-haired man at the door, shock written on his face.

~

[TheEnglishman]

I see what you mean, about the chapter being long. Very interesting.

[Aquamarine]

It's awesome SoT! I think, the longer the better. Keep it up old chap!

[Toasty]

That was a great cliffhanger!! Just like the last one!....................Whens the next one going to be posted? :P

[Sea of Time]

Well, the storyline is breaking up a bit now into a few sections, so it will take longer in between each chapter. But I'll do my best to not leave you guys in the dark too long.

[Sea of Time]

Here's the next installment for ya.

~

Chapter 17

"No."

There were a thousand reasons why this tragedy should not have happened. But there it was, before their very eyes. Vale, their home, and the home of their families, alit with flames.

They walked forward to see the extent of the fire. It was disastrous. All the houses and shops in the plaza that had been rebuilt only five years ago had been burnt down, the smoldering ruins still lit in the fresh flame. Up the hill, the fire was spreading, and they could see that the straw rooftops had caught fire, the flame tips licking the dark sky above them. Nothing was left undamaged, it seemed as if everything had caught fire. The town they had rebuilt so eagerly only five years ago was gone.

Isaac was in a state of disbelief. The town he had grown up in. The town he had learned his psynergy in. The town he had left behind. The town he had helped rebuild. Gone. It had not sunk in. It could not sink in. He looked at the others and saw the fire dancing in their eyes as they watched in horror as Vale burned. There was nothing they could do now. Vale was too long gone.

In front of the town, there was a note nailed to a stake in the ground. The note had an evil familiarity of one they had just seen in Vault. Isaac did not have to read it to know who it was from. He just stared at it, as the others came to the same conclusion.

Felix charged forward, ripped the note from the stake, and without reading it, ripped it into pieces.

"Damn it!" he yelled angrily into the night, falling to his knees, and putting his face into his hands. He began to weep. And as he did, everyone else wept as well. The silent tears fell for what felt like hours as they watched the flames destroy their home. It wasn't long before the fire went out, it's drive for fuel quenched. The smoke remained, rising off of every building they had grown up with.

Finally, the tears stopped. And as they did, a glimmer of hope, if only slight, came to them from the east as the Sun showed its face over the horizon. With the light, the full extent of the damage was unmasked. The town was clearly beyond repair, but without words, the adepts resolved to investigate the ruins.

They entered what used to be the plaza and were greeted by the smell of burnt straw. They searched the ruins of the buildings by dousing the small flames and freezing the ruins so they could search through them with their bare hands. Once again, though, just like it had been in Vault, there were no bodies. They searched the rest of the town diligently, but still, they found no bodies. The adepts regrouped in the town plaza.

"Well, I suppose this pridicament leaves us with one of two options. One, the bodies of the...dead villagers," Felix stuttered, "have been taken by the soldiers. Or, two, they are still alive and have been kidnapped to who knows where."

"Dead or alive, I want the bodies of my family..." said Isaac.

"Grant..." murmured Jenna.

Isaac continued, "I think it's about time we face Tolbi head on."

"What about the Western Sea?" asked Piers, "We may still find help there."

"If we found no help in the Eastern Sea, what makes you think we will find help in the West?" answered Isaac.

"I agree with Isaac," said Felix, "it's time we face our destiny and attack Tolbi. They've taken our families and held all of Weyard in captive. We have to fight back."

Isaac looked at Felix in approval, then around at the others. They all looked back at him, resolution written on their faces, hiding the pain at the loss they had just received.

Then Isaac remembered something, something important, one person in their party may have seen this tragedy before it happened, one person may understand what they must do... "Sheba?" he said as he looked around the group, "What did you see in your vision at Bilibin?"

It was then that he noticed a glaring problem. Sheba was not with the other adepts. She wasn't even in the plaza.

"Sheba?" exclaimed Felix, as he too noticed her disappearance.

The adepts looked around, expecting to see her nearby. It was Isaac who saw her first, and the sight shocked him.

"There..." he murmured.

Sheba was on the second plateau of Vale. It was higher than any other part of the town, up two flights of stone steps. She was halfway off the edge of the plateau, inches from plummeting hundreds of feet to the plaza. But it was not the height that shocked Isaac. Her arms were outstreched, hands pointing to the new day above them and she was looking straight at them, her eyes rolled back in her head.

Then she spoke in a booming, deep voice, an out of body voice that was definitely not her own. It spoke slowly but in a voice for all to here.

"Sanctity lies in the West. Holiness lies in the West. Piety lies in the West. Do not seek death in the South. Do not seek the snare of the enemy. Do not seek Death."

Then Sheba's arms came down, and her eyes returned to normal, all occult gone. She slumped and teetered over the edge, and fell. Felix ran forward and performed a Move psynergy just in time to break her fall with a nearby unburnt bush.

"Sheba!" cried Isaac, rushing forward.

"I think she's fine," said Felix, examining her, "Sheba, are you hurt?"

Sheba opened her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair, "I...I'm fine." she said quietly.

"What happened?" asked Isaac.

"I...I had a... premonition. But this one was different....stronger than the others. The voice in my head did not only advise me, but actually controlled my actions. It told me to draw attention to myself and forced me onto the edge of the plateau. I...don't remember what happened next. All I know is that the voice told me to travel to Shaman Village. I think that's what I told you."

"As far as I know, it was," answered Felix, "Can you stand?"

"Yes," answered Sheba, slowly standing up, "Yes. I'm unhurt."

"That's good," said Felix, turning to the others, "Well, do we trust this vision and travel to Shaman Village?"

"Can't we have some time to grieve," spoke up Garet, sounding exhausted, "We have just lost our home!"

"I'm sorry, but we just can't stop now," replied Felix mercifully, "who knows what they will do with the bodies of our families. If they are dead, I want to give them a proper burial."

"I agree." said Jenna quietly. I just want my son back.

"Well, Sheba's visions have never lead us amiss," pronounced Isaac, adrenaline flowing through him at the thought of his son, "I say we go to Shaman Village and see what lies there."

Ivan piped in, "If it's not already taken by Tolbi, we will get a hero's welcome."

"So it's settled then. We will travel to Shaman Village as soon as possible," declared Felix, "We will need to travel in secrecy. Piers, we will need to Cloak the ship."

"It will be done." answered Piers.

Isaac, with a new rising feeling in his heart, spoke, "Well, let's get started then."

~~~~~~

Many thousands of miles away, a ghost town lay in the center of Hesperia. Houses and tents had crumpled to the ground, dust still rising in the hot, afternoon sun, seeking an escape. Nothing remained undestroyed. But there were no soldiers, no armies, admiring their handiwork. Only one man stood in the center of the town, staring out to the east, awaiting his enemy.

Shaman Village had been taken, and Maskah awaited the adepts.

[isaac rules]

all i have to say about this story is...wow... this is the best story i have read in a long time, it just might get me interested in reading again. btw, can i copy this story into word, so i have a copy of my own.

This post has been edited by isaac rules: 16 April 2006 - 03:50 PM

[Sea of Time]

Of course you can, and thank you for the compliment!

If you haven't noticed the fanfic forum if filling up a bit, so just to keep you all posted on the latest chapter, I've included a line in my sig about it, just so you know.

Also, ATW will be up on fanfiction.net sometime this week, and I'll post a link to it along with Chapter 18. (If you want an easier way to read it!)

Thank you for all the positive feedback and the story will continue soon!

[Split Infinity]

^ Reply #100. -_- It's going to take me hours to read your latest chapters.

[Somia]

I like the words you choose, very peotic at some point, I haven't read all of it yet, but I will if I have the time, just keep up the good work okaie? n-n

[Sea of Time]

Tainted War on Fanfiction.net

Alright, there's the link to the easier readable version of ATW. It's not finished yet, but in a couple of weeks, it'll be caught up.

In the meantime, here's Chapter 18.

~

Chapter 18

"Just keep walking..."

He repeated it to himself again, as he had over the last three years. He had been walking this whole time, three years, repeating those three words, willing himself to go on. Walking helped Alex think, and he had been thinking for a long time. Most of the time he wandered the paths of Weyard aimlessly, mumbling to himself, spiting and cursing the adepts that had ruined his life. He would sail the waters with destinations in mind, but his drive for vengeance turned to insanity, and he would dock in the wrong cities, and walk again. He would stare at his feet, aimlessly searching his mind for a plan to exact revenge. It had been three years, three long years since he had broken out of the ruins at Sol Sanctum, and nothing had come of it. Then, the fateful day came, when his wandering led him to the town of Contigo.

He looked up at the sight ahead of him, his eyes glazed. He recognized this place,

"Contigo..." he mumbled to himself, not caring if he was heard, "Perhaps...Anemos...will provide answers."

And so, he entered the town, unnoticed. To villagers, he appeared only to be a deadbeat traveler. His appearance had become scruffy, dirt clinging to his hair, dulling the blue color. He appeared to be a loner, searching for a shelter for the evening. They did not suspect his real plans.

And so, Alex walked to the Sanctum. Priests were abound in this place. Some praying, others guarding the doors, waiting for travelers. Alex walked up to the priest guarding the center door and attempted to open it. The priest reached out and grabbed Alex's hand before it could get to the handle.

"What is it ye would be wantin' in our Sanctum?" asked the priest in a thick accent.

Alex, forseeing this barrier, replied, "Only...to give prayer. I...have lost my...wife recently. I just wish to mourn my loss."

The priest looked Alex up and down for a second, his face moved with pity. He had clearly bought the story, "Well we don't keep the prayerful off our doorstep. You may enter."

The priest removed his hand, allowing Alex entrance.

"Thank you father." he replied, keeping his eyes averted.

He pushed open the door and was greeted by the dungy smell of the ancient Sanctum.

"It is more like a dungeon than a sanctum." Alex said to himself, out of hearing range of the priest. The door closed behind him, and he walked down the front hallway. It was not long, though, before he came across an unforseen barrier. Two stone pillars stood in his path.

"But of course, the priest would not let me into Anemos so easily." commented Alex, speaking to no one but himself. He stood there for a few moments, summoning up the proper strength.

He closed his eyes and held his palm to the ceiling, "Stream." A jet of water streaked from Alex's hand, and with the force of a broken dam, it slammed into the stone pillars, crumbling them instantly. Alex smiled at his handiwork, carefully stepped over the shards of rock, and continued into the large lobby of Anemos. All around him, lay the four islands, each one representing an element. Small tiles on each of them. At the back of the room stood a door. Alex walked straight up to the door, knowing full well he had no djinni to open it. The door was made of the strongest metal and had the imprint of a Sun cast into it. Alex recognized it as the old symbol for the Golden Sun, with four rays around the orb representing the four elements, and their unity.

To the left of the door there was a plaque with a message upon it. The message was in the new language, and Alex read it aloud, even though he already knew what it said.

If you deem yourself worthy
Light the tiles of this room with the power of the elementals
And let the darkness of Anemos be your reward

Above the door there was another message. This message, however, was in the elder language of Anemos, used thousands of years ago. The Sages invented this language, and it was adapted by the rest of Weyard. It was forgotten, though, and two hundred years ago, a new language replaced it. Alex had not seen this message before. As far as he knew, it had not been there the last time he had been here, several years before.

The symbols were faded into the stone and it was hard to make out. Alex was learned in the old language, as precious few were. Only the oldest living villagers of Weyard now knew the language. Alex had learned it in Lemuria, where it was still used often.

Alex slowly deciphered the message and read it aloud to the empty room

If you deem yourself worthy
In the new age of Alchemy
Place your palm on our Golden Sun
and let yourself testify
The center of the world awaits

Alex was amazed. 'In the new age of Alchemy'. He had not seen this message before because it had not existed before! The seal had been destroyed, the new age of Alchemy begun, and this door held the key to uncharted worlds! Alex could not miss such an opportunity at discovery. He held out his palm and slowly placed it on the imprint of the Sun.

Immediately, the Sun turned yellow and Alex felt immense strength flowing through him. It felt as if a new life had been given to him. The feeling was of joy and Alex almost laughed at the energy flowing through his veins. Then, the Sun darkened in color. From yellow to orange, and from orange to red. The red Sun made the metal burning hot, and all joy left Alex as his hand started to burn, smoke coming off the Sun from his burning flesh. He tried to remove his hand from the imprint but found that he could not. The Sun began to drain his energy and Alex felt all his strength leave him. It was as if his very life force was being pulled out of him by the imprint. Pain began to take over, he fell to his knees, burning hand glued to the door. But, just as Alex was about to black out and give in to the pain, the Sun brightened to yellow again and the pain was gone. His energy returned to him, and he stood up slowly. He tried again to remove his hand from the imprint and this time it came off with a 'rip' as his flesh was left behind. Alex looked at his hand. It was severely burned. His palm and fingertips had lost all their skin and were bleeding, the skin still sticking to the yellow imprint on the door. Alex ripped a piece of clothing from his shirt and wrapped his hand to stop the bleeding.

"All in the name of discovery." said Alex to himself, smiling painfully.

Then, with a creak, the door slowly opened, revealing a long, dark staircase leading down for what seemed like forever.

Alex grinned with the happiness that came with this new adventure. He began to walk down the stairs. They were made of stone and after about a hundred steps, it was so dark that all he could hear was the sound of his own feet. The stairs continued on and on, but Alex continued to walk down them, his mind excited with the prospect of what he would find at the bottom.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a bright light appeared below him. A torch was lit at the bottom of the stairs. He ran down the remaining stairs and at the bottom was greeted by another door, identical to the last, with the imprint of the Golden Sun in the center. Once again, there was a message above the door. The two torches on the wall illuminated the old symbols.

You have passed the test
And plunged deep into the soul of Weyard
Fear not the contents of this room
For they contain prophecies of the future
and the past
Set Free

Alex eagerly touched his palm to the imprint, his excitement reaching its peak. This time, there was no test of strength. The imprint shone yellow, and the door slowly swung open as Alex removed his palm.

The light from the torches filled the room before him. It was a large, plain room with stone on all four walls and the ceiling. The floor was made of dirt.

Alex looked around the room slowly, expecting to see a scroll of sorts containing the 'prophecies'. However, the room was quite empty but for one detail.

Alex could not believe what he saw when his eyes set on the corner of the room. It could not be real.

In the corner of the room sat Maskah, the man who's legend was that of the 'banished prophecy' and the man who would turn the tides of Alex's search for revenge.

~

[Somia]

Kweee...All of them are soo long >.< I'm catching up on chapter 12..

[Toasty]

SoT, you are a god of literature. I bow before you. There was only one slip up:

Quote

it was so dark that all he could hear was the sound of his own feet.

Shouldn't that be all he could see or something? Mabey I just pay to much attention to details. :angry: Good paragraph though.

[Split Infinity]

But echoes always seem louder in dark places...

[Toasty]

Well mabey that's cause dark places tend to be quieter....Anyway, can't wait 'till the next chapter!

[Sea of Time]

Split has the right idea. When you're alone in a dark place, all your senses become stronger, especially your hearing. You become more aware of your surroundings. That's what I was trying to get across.

[Sea of Time]

Here's Chapter 19. I just completed it.

~

Chapter 19

The Western sea shone with the promise of a new day. Isaac looked out from the coast and was greeted by the marvellous sight. The Lemurian ship was there, the metal panelling reflecting the afternoon sun. The ocean stretched out for what seemed like an eternity. The waves crashed into each other, creating gleaming blue ripples that stretched for a few feet before running out of energy and dying. The adepts were glad to see a welcoming sight before them.

Starting now, thought Isaac, this is not about saving Weyard but also about saving their own families. Tolbi had made it personal, and they would most certainly pay for that.

The ship bobbed up and down in the shallow waters along the shoreline. With a bit of psynergy, Piers brought the wooden plank down from the ship, landing it in front of them, allowing them passage onto the ship. Isaac could still not get over how, wherever they were, wherever they needed to travel, the ship was ther, summoned to them as if it was a sort of pet. They all boarded the ship and most of them got to work, preparing the ship for travel. Sheba, however, did not take part in the tasks at hand. Instead, she went straight towards the inside of the ship, claiming to be exhausted. In reality, Sheba needed to think about what had just happened. Never before had she experienced a premonition that controlled her actions. She tried to remember what she had felt like during the time in Vale but found she could not remember what had happened. The only memory she could muster was that of Vale alit with flame. The next thing she could recall, was Felix kneeling over her. It was almost as if that experience was wiped from her mind. Sheba put her face in her hands, frustrated. Something was not right about this whole situation. She walked to one of the bedrooms and fell onto the bed, trying to turn her brain off, but found she could not. So she was left lying on her back, thinking about all that had transpired.

"Cloak." muttered Piers.

Isaac was excited to see what it would be like to sail on a cloaked vessel. In Lunpa, when Isaac had last been cloaked five years ago, he remembered not being able to see any of the other three adepts around him. They were invisible to all, even each other.

Immediately after Piers muttered the psynergy, all of their surroundings disappeared. The ship disappeared from Isaac's view. Isaac was still aware of the other adepts ther, he could still see them, but they all appeared to be walking on air. Isaac looked down and saw only the sea below him. He laughed at the feeling of floating and being grounded combined, tricking his mind.

"I modified the psynergy slightly, so that we can still see each other. However, others will not be able to see us. Either way, it works out to our advantage." said Piers knowingly from the helm of the ship.

"Awesome." replied Garet, starting to walk around. He didn't get three steps before running straight into a wall, falling backwards in surprise. Everyone laughed, as Garet rubbed his head and sat up, "Oh, come on, that's not funny."

"Try not to hurt yourselves," laughed Piers, "Well, what say we get started!"

And with that, Piers turned the ship west, appearing to steer only air as the ship turned. Then, the ship lurched, and they started to move quickly towards Hesperia.

This is definitely weird. thought Isaac, grinning, walking around, hands outstretched to prevent any embarassment or injury. He saw Jenna doing the same thing ahead of him, smiling as she too tried to navigate the cloaked ship.

She caught his eye and laughed, "I don't think going inside would be a good idea right now!"

Isaac giggled and replied, "I wonder how Sheba is feeling right now?"

"Why...is she inside?" asked Jenna, seemingly surprised.

"Yeah, she went in right after getting on." Isaac replied.

"Well, why aren't you with her?" she asked slyly.

Isaac was surprised by this question, "What?"

"Well, you two have gotten quite chummy lately, I figured you'd be with her."

Isaac could hardly believe his ears. It was not like Jenna to show this kind of blind contempt, "Jenna, we're married! There's no reason to be jealous, so what's with these questions?"

"I just want to know what's going on between you two!" she replied indignantly.

Isaac understood why she was angry. He had been holding Sheba's vision from Bilibin a secret. He could probably tell her now that Sheba's vision had come to pass, "Look, when we were in Bilibin, Sheba pulled me aside to tell me about a vision she had experienced. She wanted to tell me alone, just to hide its contents from you and the others. She told me that she forsaw something horrible waiting for us in Western Angara. I'm not sure, but she might have seen Vale on fire before it actually happened!"

Jenna was clearly shocked by this, "What? Why didn't she tel anyone?"

"I don't understand her logic either, but I think she has hidden herself from us because she is guilty for not telling."

"Wow," said Jenna, quiet for a few moments, "and this is what you wouldn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was right. I'm sorry for lying to you..."

"No, I understand, Isaac. You were just trying to protect us, keep up our good spirits while we could."

In that moment, Isaac was so grateful for having her for a wife. She was so understanding in times like this, and Isaac loved her all the more for it.

They exchanged looks of care, but just then there was a call from the helm, "Hesperia in sight! Land Ho!" It was Piers. They had arrived. Isaac remarked at how fast the ship had travelled but did not have long to think as Jenna grabbed his hand and hurried him to the front of the ship. Sure enough, a land mass was now visible ahead of them, a small islet leading them towards Shaman Village.

A new feeling of mystery shrouded Isaac and he knew that Shaman Village would be the source of all the mystery.

Fog began to roll in from the north as they approached land, giving the ship's slow movement and the sound of the ripples an eerie feel.

Isaac thought to himself, What kind of help could we possibly find here?

~

[Aquamarine]

You're very good at describing the surroundings and stuff. Nice chapter, but nothing really happened. Hope the next one is more eventful.

[Sea of Time]

We're going back to Alex and Maskah. Hopefully that is eventful enough for you. :P

[Sea of Time]

Here's Chapter 20. I realize that a week is a long time to wait for this installment, but I hope that it's worth it to you. Enjoy.

~

Chapter 20

They were alone in his 'office'. His office was really a cave he had come across while wandering the forests of Atteka. It was about two hours walk from Contigo, secluded from the rest of civilization. The cave was underground, the staircase hidden in the deepest, darkest forest. No one would find them here. No one would dare to come.

Alex raised his palm lazily and removed the seal from Maskah's mouth. He had brought Maskah here. He wanted to know so many things about this man sitting across from him in this dark, dark place. Maskah gasped for air as he regained the use of his mouth. He looked at Alex, afraid. Thousands of years in solitude had made him lose his edge. He lived in fear, knowing he would be down in Anemos forever. Then, this blue-haired man comes and whisks him away, dragging him to this dark place. He did like the darkness, though, he had become accustomed to it, it was one with his spirit. He hated the light and preferred this cave to the surface.

Alex shuffled into a sitting position and looked Maskah in the eyes for a few seconds before speaking, "Who are you?" he demanded in a low, firm tone.

"I...I am...My name is Maskah." he answered quietly in a raspy voice.

Alex knew this already of course. He knew all about Maskah's 'legacy'. He had defeated one of the sages on top of Trial Road and murdered him. He then was locked away by the Sages, in a secret location that was known only to those of the sacred brethren. The same night that Maskah was exiled, the Sages created the seal on Alchemy. They locked away the power into four elemental stars and hid them deep inside Sol Sanctum. No one in Shaman Village saw Maskah after that day and it was presumed that he was dead, his body rotting in some sort of cell far away. And so, he was forgotten, but his story was not. The story of the murder of Totopa by an impossibly strong adept lived in Weyard for hundreds of years. But, eventually, the story was forgotten as well, and the legend of Maskah was a story known only to the oldest tribe members of Shaman Village. Alex, early in his life, had heard this story while travelling and had never forgotten it. And now, here he was, face to face with the 'banished prophecy'.

Maskah was confused. Why was this man remaining silent? Only one question to be asked? Why am I here? He realized that this man was clearly powerful, having dragged him all the way out to this forest cave.

It was in that moment that Maskah remembered who he was. Not his identity, that had always been with him, but his power. He rememered how hard he had trained for all those years long ago, just to get his chance at revenge. Who was this man to try to drag him on the ground to this place and question him? This man may be strong, but there was certainly no adept as strong as himself. And so, Maskah became the interrogator.

"And who are you?" he asked with confidence.

Alex looked up, surprised. He looked into Maskah's eyes. Alex smiled. There was no more fear there.

So he is not a weak old man after all. Good.

"My name is Alex." he answered firmly.

Maskah tried to remember. Alex. He had never heard a name like that before. He was clearly from somewhere that Maskah had never been. No matter. Maskah continued to question him.

"Alex. Why did you free me?"

Alex was getting slightly frustrated now. He was losing control of this man. Nevertheless, he answered Maskah's question.

He will learn to respect me.

"I freed you because I knew that we would be able to work together. Work together towards a common goal."

Maskah let out a raspy laugh, "I answer to no one, Alex. Surely you realize that I am much stronger than yourself."

Now, Alex was furious. Maskah needed to be taught a lesson in respect. Alex ground his teeth together and muttered, "I wouldn't bet on that."

He stood up quickly, glaring at Maskah. He directed his palm at the insolent man in front of him.

"Freeze Prism." he declared, in a commanding tone that Maskah had not heard him use before. Immediately, huge chunks of ice began falling towards Maskah. The ice rained down all around him, but it did not touch him.

What? Alex thought. The ice could not hit him, it was as if this aura around him guarded him from psynergy. Impossible! No mortal man can train himself to prevent Alchemy's effects! Alex had clearly misjudged Maskah. If you will not succumb to my psynergy than you will learn respect from my blade!

Alex unsheathed his sword. It was a dull grey in the cave, but in the sunlight it would have shone as blue as the ocean. He rushed at Maskah, ready to put all his strength into one hit.

Maskah was unimpressed. After Alex failed to strike him with weak psynergy, he resorted to the worst possible tactic. Brute strength. Maskah smirked. Alex would not live long with that attitude.

Alex was getting closer. Maskah would not be able to block his sword. He was unarmed, had no sword, no armour. He moved into range for a strike and put all his strength into a cut to the neck. But, just as the sword was about to strike him, as it was inches away from his neck, it stopped. Maskah had raised his palm, a haze emitting from it. The haze had coated his neck and Alex's sword could not break through. Alex backed up, realizing the mistake he had made in challenging such a formidable opponent. There was no way he could beat Maskah, it was impossible.

It was time. It was time for Maskah to be the one on the offensive. He could see the fear in Alex's eyes. He had become mortal. He now feared death.

It is more imminent than you believe. thought Maskah, smiling. Alex had backed himself against the wall, he knew and feared the upcoming attack.

Maskah raised his palm, the light of Jupiter emitting from it and filling the room with a hazy light. It is time to die, Alex.

"Storm Surge." he declared, his palms outstretched to the heavens, his head thrown back as the effects of his attack began.

First, Alex heard the thunder. It sounded far off, as if coming from a distance. But as he listened, he heard the thunder coming closer, becoming louder and louder. Soon it was a deafening roar, the claps exploding in his ears, filling ever inch of his being with dread at what would come next. Then, it began. With a tremendous crash that shook the earth itself, a huge lightning strike hit Alex in the chest. Alex lost his breath, the force of the attack knocking him unconscious. As the thunder faded away and the attack ended, Alex slumped to the floor. He kneeled there, eyes white with shock. The light had blinded him. The sound had deafened him. The strike had shaken the very core of his being. And now he was dying.

~

TO BE CONTINUED

[isaac rules]

i know that you haven't been getting much criticism, but great job... and keep up the good work, i can't wait to see what happens next

[Aquamarine]

Excelent chapter! And it was VERY eventful! :blink: Great story twist! Looking forward to more!

[Saturos S.]

That was a great twist. Really, I'd like to say something to make it better but I'm not much of a story writer myself, more a reader.

One question though, is this happening when Isaac and co are in Shaman village?

This post has been edited by Saturos Striker: 09 May 2006 - 01:41 PM

[Sea of Time]

This is not present times. This happened right after Alex found Maskah 3 years after he escaped from Mt. Aleph. Sorry about the confusion, I didn't really make that clear. :rolleyes:

[Toasty]

Ahhh. That takes most thoughts out of my head. If this happened right after he found Maskha, then Alex would be most likely dead. Otherwise, I would've said that Isaac and co. would find him and heal him for whatever reason. Great cliffhanger.

[Sea of Time]

So Chapter 18 and 20 are in sequence, if you didn't understand that already.

[Toasty]

So whens the next chapter?

[Sea of Time]

No later than Sunday, it will be up on the site. I'm working on my music when I'm on the PC at home, so I haven't had time to update.

[TheEnglishman]

That was an unexpected twist. I thought the two of them would end up working together. I like it though.

[Sea of Time]

Alright, let me clear things up for those of you who may be confused. We are right now following two different storylines. The first, and more important one, is that of the adepts on their way to Shaman Village in 'present time'. The other, is Alex and Maskah's first meeting, which took place two years ago. Alex found Maskah far beneath Anemos and has taken him to a cave west of Contigo. Chapter 18 and 20 and now 21 are in succession. Now, Chapter 20 was going to be much too long, so I broke it into two chapters. We continue with Alex and Maskah in Chapter 21, and here it is.

~

Chapter 21

Darkness shrouded his eyes and the cave around him was gone. He began to see flashes of his past. His birth and humble beginnings. Guarding the Mercury Lighthouse with his first love, Mia. I never told her... The day he left Imil. The day he met Saturos and Menardi for the first time. The day he watched them die. The night...that fateful night when he climbed Mt. Aleph. The Wise One. The darkness was absolute now and the flashes became slower and more clear. The Wise One telling him that Isaac had stolen his power.

Isaac....

Questions filled Alex's mind. Would he have fallen from Mt. Aleph if the power of Alchemy had been his? Would he have pointlessly wandered Weyard day after day if the power of Alchemy was his? Would he be dying right now if Isaac had not stolen his power?

Alex was filled with rage now. They had stolen the Golden Sun from him. They had left him with nothing. Would he die now without having a chance to show his revenge? It was not too late. He was not dead yet. He would live and exact his vengeance on every adept that had wronged him. And they would die, not him.

Maskah's hands came down, the attack was over. It had worked. Alex's lifeless body was on the ground, exhausted of all its energy. Incredible, thought Maskah, I can kill a man without even exerting excessive energy. It would be so easy to become all he could and wanted to be. He would show Weyard exactly why they should fear Maskah. He looked down at Alex. Pathetic. The weak do not deserve life. Alex's eyes were still open, their emotions screaming fear and schock. His hands were still loosely gripped around his sword.

You fought valiantly young man, buy your death was inevitable.

But just as he thought that, something completely unexpected happened. Alex's body twitched with a sign of life.

Maskah stared at him in shock, Is he not dead?

Then, Alex's hands tightened as the grip on his sword was strengthened. He was not dead. Something was keeping him off of the brink. Finally, he blinked.

Alex blinked. There was no more darkness, but he was in a cave. He struggled to his knees and looked around. There, in front of him, was Maskah. Alex smirked. I am alive. Life sprung back into every vein in his body as the adrenaline of what had just transpired filled him. He took in his surroundings, then, remembering Maskah's attack, looked down at his chest. The shirt he had been wearing had burnt off, its torn remains strewn across the cave. Where the lightning had struck him, there was burnt flesh smoldering, fresh from the attack. Surely, this would have killed any other man.

So why am I alive?

Then, he knew it. It was spite that had kept him alive. His desire for vengeance on the adepts that had wronged him was the reason he was still breathing. And yet, he felt strange now. Different. There was an emotional hole inside him that had not been there before the attack. He found that the only thing he could think about...was vengeance. He couldn't comprehend his past, could not remember anything before digging himself out of the ruins of Mt. Aleph. Vengeance was one with Alex now. He would not quit until it was exacted. And the first thing to do, would be to kill this insolent man in front of him.

Alex stood up, not struggling anymore, energy and adrenaline flowing through him. He looked at Maskah. He was clearly still surprised by the mere fact that Alex was still alive after the Storm Surge attack. Alex knew that now, with the element of surprise on his side, was the time to attack.

But what can I do?

Maskah was seemingly invincible. Psynergy did not touch him and neither did swords of any kind.

But it is my destiny to defeat him. thought Alex, and it was. This was only a small hurdle in his quest to defeat Isaac and the other adepts, he just knew it.

Alex decided to look inside himself for power. Perhaps something he had not thought of would come to mind. But, when he searched his mind, all he found in it was darkness. There was no thought, no memory, only darkness. And the darkness of vengeance filled every crevice of his mind.

How can I lose to this man? he thought, as his thoughts again turned to the adepts, If I had the power that I was destined to have this would all be too easy!

As the vision of Isaac entered his mind, Alex was filled with a cold fury. The power should be his! He had planned out Felix's whole quest so that when the Mars Lighthouse was lit, he would be atop Mt. Aleph and be the recipient of all of Alchemy's powers. But instead, the power was given to an insolent child who had no idea how to master it. Alex screamed in his fury. The anger filled every inch of him and without thinking, he raised his palm...

In that moment, he thought nothing, the only vision in his mind was that of Isaac's dead body, sprawled on a tile floor. Alex did not realize he was speaking and did not realize he was using psynergy. When Alex spoke, it was in a haunting, monotonous voice:

Summon the shadows,
They lie in fate
They lie in doom
Summon the Shadows.

Maskah could not believe what he was seeing. Alex had raised his palm and was speaking in verses Maskah had never heard before. However, as he finished, Maskah's skepticism turned to fear as in the center of Alex's palm, there appeared a black hole. He had never seen psynergy lik this. Then, out of nowhere, Maskah fell to the ground, his throat compressing so he could not breathe. He lay on the ground, twitching madly, his lungs begging for air that they could not receive. He struggled but knew there was no hope. His lungs gave away from lack of air, and he blacked out.

Alex lowered his palm and looked at Maskah. He was there, sprawled before him on the ground. He walked up to the old man to see what he had done. Alex was not sure what had just transpired, he could not remember anything and when he tried, a vision of Isaac's dead body filled his mind again. Clearly he had found a way to harm Maskah. Alex leaned over the man and grabbed his wrist, checking the pulse. There was one. He was not dead!

Alex considered killing him right there, but an idea struck him just then. Perhaps, Maskah was not just a step he needed to take in his plan, perhaps Maskah could be a part of it. Maskah's power could be a strong asset if Alex could harness it to his will.

It will not be too difficult, he thought, [i]I have clearly demonstrated my power. He will respect me and fear me.

Alex put his hand of Maskah's forehead. He cast a healing psynergy silently, restoring Maskah's lungs. Maskah's eyes shot open as his chest rose dramatically. He was conscious once again. Immediately, Alex cast a Sleep psynergy on him. He did not want any conflict while thinking of what to do next. Maskah closed his eyes peacefully again, his head rolling to the left, deep in slumber.

Alex walked over to the darkest corner of the cave, and exhaustedly sat down on the dirt floor, deciding how his revenge would play out now that he had a tremendous force working for him.

Hours went by, feeling like days to the tired Alex, without a plan. [i]What can I do to defeat them? But it was not hopeless. It was then in a brilliant flash of genius, that his plan came to him.

~

[isaac rules]

great cliffhanger... i hate them so much, i can't stop reading because of it, no offence, its a great story, keep it up, its just that the cliffhangers are killing me...
oh well, i think its funny alex could take down maskah by just using one form of psynergy... very ironic that one so powerful can be defeated so easily

[Toasty]

Yep. Great ending. Glad to see Alex is still alive. I guess I guessed right. I knew that a character such as Alex wasn't going to be killed in a fanfic like this. Great story SoT.

[Saturos S.]

Oooo... an all mighty sinister alex. One word: "YAAAY!!!"

[Split Infinity]

What's up, SoT? Out of ideas?

[Sea of Time]

I have zero time for this story right now. Between my projects, final exams, I'm staying up late studying.

I have one more chapter written which I should be able to get up in the next week but after that I don't know how long it will be.

[Saturos S.]

School comes first. Don't push it.

[isaac rules]

yes, what saturos said... but then again, you don't need school to write the story... and if you want to be an author, ditch school! who needs it anyways, the only hard class i have is english, and i can speak it just fine

(finish school first)

[Saturos S.]

Yet you don't use .'s and caps with I.

You can speak it allright but can you write it?

[isaac rules]

i can write it, just when typing, capsing (made up word?) I's is something that i usually let word do for me when typing, and where in that post do i need and apostrophe? and allright is spelled all right :rolleyes:
edit: whats with you questioning me, twice in one day?

[Saturos S.]

Uhmm... question wednesday?

I didn't mean the apostrophe I meant the dots.

And is SoT gonna post the new chapter as he did have one ready I believe, after that it's gonna be a long wait till after study time.

[Toasty]

It's been more than a week, but we should expect that. He is (or should be) bogged down with school at the moment.

[Sea of Time]

After at least a two week period, I finally have a little bit of time to post Chapter 22. And here it is.

~

Chapter 22

And so, they had arrived. The sunlight hit their eyes like a crack in the window on a Sunday morning. The cave had once again adjusted their eyes to darkness, but it was not long before they became accustomed to the Sun. It was now disappearing behind the distant mountains, the sunset imminent. It would not be long before the shadow of darkness shrouded them. The sunset lit the plain ahead of them, brown grass as far as they eye could see. In the center of the plain sat a collection of several plateaus, marking Jupiter's city, Shaman Village. It was here that Sheba had led them, following her vision she experienced in the burning town of Vale. They were here, and what they were about to find would test their strength on a whole new level.

They did not admire the sight for too long, there was something unsettling about seeing Shaman Village on the brink of night. Isaac still had full trust in Sheba, her visions had always come to pass, whether it be for good or evil. So, he took the first step forward, and the other seven, exchanging looks of nervousness, followed him. Felix immediately retook the lead, as if it was offensive for Isaac to lead them at this point in their journey. There was something strange about Felix, noticed Isaac. He was walking even faster than usual, leaving the others several paces behind him. He was not barking orders as he usually would, but treating this mission as if it was his and his alone.

Isaac remembered then what Sheba had told him about Felix back in Bilibin. "Felix may be leading us, but he has no idea what he heads towards. He sees only evil around him, and feels he must destroy it. His emotions, no matter what they are, always mask his drive to be the hero."

Isaac looked behind him at Sheba. She had always been their intuition, their conscience. She was usually so strong-headed, and yet now, her head was hung, her face pale. She did not look well in the least. Mia was walking alongside her, her hand on Sheba's back. Mia smiled at Isaac as he looked at her.

"Is she going to be okay" he asked, concerned.

Mia's smile faded a little as she looked at Sheba, "I'm not sure. I've healed her, but I don't think she's physically sick. She's been depressed ever since Vale. She hasn't spoken to anyone."

Isaac looked at Sheba, "We should slow down. She looks like she might pass out at any moment."

Isaac turned to the north, where Felix was now a dozen strides ahead of them. They could not keep up with his pace, or at least Sheba could not. They were going to slow down, whether Felix would or not.

"Felix!" he called. Felix did not turn around, but continued walking at the same pace, as if he had not heard Isaac. "Felix, you need to slow down! Sheba is sick!" called Isaac again, but Felix continued forward, ignoring him. Isaac knew that Felix could hear him, he was not that far ahead. What baffled him was how he was disregarding Sheba. After a couple more attempts to get Felix's attention, Isaac simply gave up. Felix was much too far ahead of them now, and if that was the way he wanted it, so be it. They would meet again in Shaman Village.

Isaac turned his attention back to Sheba.

"We will arrive in about ten minutes, will you make it?" he asked her. Sheba continued to stare at the ground, cold sweat dripping from her pale face. She gave no response but her eyes opened wider seeming to be of fear.

"She's come all this way," remarked Ivan from behind the two women, "when we arrive in Shaman Village, we can give her rest. She is, of course, the champion of Trial Road."

Isaac smiled, remembering the last time they had been in Shaman Village. By defeating Moapa, they had not only proven their power, but also that women can be just as strong in will as men. His cheerful look at the past did not last long as he looked back at Sheba, who was now breathing harder and faster, becoming more and more pale as they walked.

What could be wrong with her?

Eventually, Shaman Village was in sight. The town certainly looked different from the last time they had been there. Some tents appeared to have crumbled to the ground, the wooden poles keeping them up gone. Also, the town was deathly quiet. There was not a soul to be found as they entered the front gates. It was as if the whole town had been evacuated. The only sounds to be heard was the low wind brushing along the grass and billowing against the tents that were still standing. The night had set in now, making it more eerie with the young night sky above them. Isaac remembered that Felix was here somewhere and they had not seen him.

Isaac beckoned to the others, "Come on. Let's find Felix." He began to walk towards Trial Road.

Nobody moved. Mia spoke on what she felt was the behalf of the others, "Are you sure it's...safe?"

"Something is wrong here. I can sense it." piped in Ivan.

"This is all too similar to the situation in Lemuria. I do not want to be in that same position again. It doesn't look like we will find help here anyways." added Piers.

"In any case, we have to find Felix if we're going to get out of here. Piers, if you Mia and Sheba stay back, us four will go find Felix," He looked at Sheba for a second, who looked like she might collapse at any second, her eyes open wide in fear. He then looked at Mia, "I don't want Sheba getting hurt."

"Okay," agreed Piers, "but be careful, Isaac. I agree with Ivan, something is most certainly wrong here."

Isaac nodded, trying to keep his face void of emotion. He was, of course, nervous, but he did not want to show weakness in a time when he had become the leader of the party. He turned, and without any further words, headed off in the direction of Trial Road along with Garet, Ivan, and Jenna.

They had only taken a dozen steps before Isaac heard a strange noise in the darkness. It was a low rumble coming from the sky above them. It was like thunder, but there were no breaks in between the thunder cracks. The rumbling was continuous. The rumble grew louder and louder. Isaac could hardly bear the noise and clapped his hands over his ears, grimacing. The thunder appeared to be coming from Trial Road in the north. Isaac's eyes were drawn there where he saw an amazing sight.

There was a huge funnel of wind, a slim tornado, coming down from a humongous thunderhead cloud. It spiralled around and around at very high speeds, but did not travel on the ground.

Strange, thought Isaac, don't tornadoes usually travel with the wind?

The thunder continued to roar above them, continuing to become louder and louder. Isaac had stopped walking, watching as the funnel of wind became wider and wider until it was roughly two hundred feet across. Wind began to billow through the town, blowing down more tents. Isaac braced himself against the wind, which surprised him, almost blowing him off his feet. He squinted to look at the thunderhead, and then ... it happened.

A bolt of lightning came down from the thunderhead, striking the ground with a tremendous crash. There was a scream of agony. Isaac recognized the voice. It was Felix. The lightning bolt had momentarily blinded Isaac just by its sheer size. He slowly got his vision back and looked frantically at the other three, who returned the look. Felix was in danger.

The thunderhead had disappeared as if it had never been there, the tornado extinct, and the wind no longer a factor. Isaac broke out in an all out sprint towards Trial Road, where the thunderhead had been.

Did Felix get hit by that thunderbolt? he thought to himself, now very scared.

Garet, Ivan, and Jenna were running closely behind them, Jenna looked afraid for her life and perhaps her brother's. They sprinted between the two plateaus that had once been blocked off by a wall of sand, and the entrance to Trial Road was in sight. Felix was still nowhere to be found so they decided to climb Trail Road, taking the west road. Isaac and his small company completed the tasks on pure adrenaline, knowing that Felix could be in serious danger at the top.

It was not long before they completed the final task and climbed the final staircase, the outside newly revealed to them, darkness still making their search difficult. There was nobody directly outside the door, but Isaac heard movement coming from the highest plateau, the battlefield. He grabbed the first rung on the nearby ropeladder and began to climb furiously.

Felix. Everything will be alright.

As he arrived at the top, his breath caught in this throat as he looked to the centre of the plateau. There he saw a strange and horrible sight in front of them. There was an old man that Isaac had never seen before, sitting cross-legged on the ground, facing out to the south. In front of the old man was a body, lifeless on the plateau. On the chest of the man, there was a blackened wound, a burn wound. Blood was streaming from the wound, skin peeling away from the chest, his ribs exposed. Isaac grimaced at the man's wound. This man could not still be alive, the lightning bolt they had seen seemed to have struck him directly in the heart.

A tear fell from Isaac's cheek in grievance. For the man in front of them ... was Felix.

~

[TheEnglishman]

Big cliffhanger there! Poor Felix.
Despite all the sadness and alike, I still found room to laugh.

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 8 2006, 03:55 PM, said:

It was not long before they completed teh final task

[Sea of Time]

Wow, *gets out notepad* I actually got 22 chapters without making a typo. This is cause for celebration!

Glad you enjoyed the chapter, Me111.

[Toasty]

Not only that, but you spelled Mia, Mis, in one spot. Great chapter though.

[Sea of Time]

*sigh* You can see that that chapter was rushed when it was typed. Could you cut me some slack? ;)

[TheEnglishman]

Well the job of a critic is to point out every single flaw. That doesn't stop it from being a well written chapter.

[Sea of Time]

I suppose so. I guess I'm just not used to critique. Thanks.

By the way, I'm trying to write Chapter 23 on paper now. It may be a couple of weeks, but I'm just letting you know that I've started.

[TheEnglishman]

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 9 2006, 10:14 PM, said:

I suppose so. I guess I'm just not used to critique. Thanks.

By the way, I'm trying to write Chapter 23 on paper now. It may be a couple of weeks, but I'm just letting you know that I've started.

Yes but critism allows you to improve. As long as it's not harsh then it doesn't bother me usually.
Good luck with 23.

[Toasty]

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 9 2006, 06:41 AM, said:

*sigh* You can see that that chapter was rushed when it was typed. Could you cut me some slack? :D

I'm just joking. But that typo is in there......

[Sea of Time]

Not anymore, as you can see.

Haven't got anywhere on Chapter 23, but I've got some more great ideas for the rest of the story. Just reminding you all, that it'll be a long one.

[TheEnglishman]

It's already a long story! How much longer do you plan to make it?

[Sea of Time]

Let's just say 50 chapters isn't out of the realm of possibility.

[TheEnglishman]

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 12 2006, 05:21 PM, said:

Let's just say 50 chapters isn't out of the realm of possibility.

:D
Wow. I'd never be able to do that much. Good luck SoT!

[Sea of Time]

It's going to take some kind of insane devotion to this story for me to finish. But I've come this far and it would be a shame now for me to stop.

[isaac rules]

this story is long, but it gives me something to do during these long hours of nothingness... i hope felix isn't dead, i would rather have garet... wait, what happened to garet? hes there, but he hasn't talked in...forever

[Sea of Time]

Exams are over!

I should start getting chapters up next week, and if I'm inspired enough, I might go back to my original plan of 2 days between each chapter.

Certainly good news for this lagging story.

[TheEnglishman]

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 21 2006, 03:05 PM, said:

Exams are over!

Lucky for some. :) I've still got time at school and two week's of work experience to do.
Have fun writing anyway.

[Split Infinity]

Whoa...it's been 22 days since your last chapter. How much longer must we be in the dark?

[Sea of Time]

I'm sorry guys. I just haven't felt the inspiration to continue right now. I know that once I start to continue I will have to continue to keep you guys interested in the story.

We'll see how life plays out but it's on hold for the moment.

[Split Infinity]

I know how to keep people interested...how about I start a GS: ATW spinoff comic series?

[Dasius]

Fair enougth SoT we'll wait with baited breath for your next chapter, but don't rush yourself if you don't have the inspiration; don't let us rush you in to something you don't wan't to do

[Sea of Time]

Split Infinity, on Jun 30 2006, 09:49 AM, said:

I know how to keep people interested...how about I start a GS: ATW spinoff comic series?

Only if it goes through me first. This is a serious story and I don't want a stupid comic to ruin it.

Dasius said:

Fair enougth SoT we'll wait with baited breath for your next chapter, but don't rush yourself if you don't have the inspiration don't let us rush you in to something you don't wan't to do

Thank you. Have you read the story yet?

[Split Infinity]

So you'd like me to eradicate all humour from this comic unless stated otherwise in the story?

[Sea of Time]

Just make the comic, email it to me (you can find the email in my profile), and I'll see if it's appropriate or not.

Now if you would please stop posting in my story topic with unrelated posts, that would be great.

[Dasius]

Sea_of_Time, on Jun 30 2006, 03:53 PM, said:

Thank you. Have you read the story yet?

Yes I have and I think it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. Seriously I've bought books that couldn't hold a candle to this!

[Split Infinity]

One last thing...you want this to be a traditional sprite comic, right?

You heard SoT. Clarify through PM next time. - MD

This post has been edited by Mars Djinni: 30 June 2006 - 12:49 PM

[Sea of Time]

Dasius, on Jun 30 2006, 10:00 AM, said:

Yes I have and I think it's one of the best things I've read in a long time. Seriously I've bought books that couldn't hold a candle to this!

Thank you very much. I haven't heard a compliment like that in a long time.

And thanks to you too, MD. I'm tired of pointless conversations in places they don't need to be.

[Sea of Time]

Finally, after all this time, an update. Enjoy it, there'll be more coming soon.

~

Chapter 23

He was dead.

No, it can't be...

Isaac couldn't believe it. Felix, his partner, his friend, was lying in front of him, lifeless. All the signs showed that he was dead. The gash across his chest, the burnt flesh, the empty look in his eyes. But, Isaac refused to believe that his friend was dead. His mind was flooded with the memories of the time they had spent together. Isaac had been so happy on that fated day in Contigo, when Felix revealed his true quest to them. He had no idea the lighthouses were destroying Weyard. It was a point of change in his life. After that day, he saw Felix as his equal, and a legitimate friend. Now, after all they had gone through together, he was there, lying before them. Death had taken him.

No...I can still help him. He can still be saved...

Isaac couldn't understand why he thought he could still save Felix. A part of him knew he was dead, but the other part still thought he could be saved.

The least I can do is try.

Isaac made up his mind and ran up to Felix, wiping away the tears. Jenna followed closely behind him, while Garet and Ivan stood where they were, a look of shock on both their faces. The old man did not move as they approached Felix's body, continuing to stare into the distance, his back turned to all of them. Isaac kneeled down beside Felix, the cold stone under his knees stained with blood. Immediately, he focused every ounce of strength into healing the body before him. Jenna came up beside him, looking distraught, horrified at the sight of her mangled brother.

She stood there, staring at Felix with glazed eyes, "Is he?"

Isaac, who was sweating profusely from the energy he was putting into a healing spell, looked up at her for a second, and managed to say through gritted teeth, "Help me..."

Immediately, Jenna got the message. She kneeled down alongside Isaac and began to use her Aura psynergy. Isaac felt some of his energy return as Jenna's spell affected him.

Isaac had forgotten the fact that Felix was dead. He had forgotten where he was. He had forgotten the old man beside them. All the focus was now on the healing spell, even though no difference was coming over Felix's body. He looked down at his friend, and began to weep again. It was becoming real that there was nothing he could do. As he looked at the wound, his attention on the spell suddenly unfocused. A voice entered his mind, but it was speaking in a language he couldn't understand. He didn't understand it, but he felt the overwhelming urge to look over at the old man beside them. It was clear to him in his mind that this man demanded his attention.

As he turned to look, the old man moved for the first time since they had arrived on the top of Trial Road. He stood up and turned to face them. He was older in appearance than Isaac had expected. The wrinkles on his face made the eyes appear to droop in their position. He was wearing dirty robes, with a black lace to tie it on at the waist. The hood on the robe had been pulled back as the man stood up.

He stood in front of them, looking first to Felix, and then to Isaac and Jenna, who were both staring back at him, paying due attention to his every move.

"I am looking for a man by the name of Isaac." he said, slowly and just loud enough for them to hear.

Isaac stood up immediately, "My name is Isaac."

The old man smiled. Isaac was being very obedient. He had expected more of a fight from such a highly praised adept. Alex had told him much about Isaac. He would hang with baited breath as Alex ranted for hours on his hate for Isaac and his stealing of Alchemy's power. Surely such a strong adept could not have his mind taken so easily. No matter. He was here to deliver a message, and if there would be no fight, all the better.

"I am here to deliver a message to you Isaac. It comes from my master, Alex, leader of Tolbi. Are you prepared to listen?"

The name Alex rung a bell in Isaac's head, but he had no control over what he was saying. "Yes. Deliver the message."

The old man than reached into his robes and pulled out a roll of parchment. He unrolled it, cleared his throat, and began to read, in a monotonous, slow pace, "This message is to be heard by Isaac. It comes from the mouth of Alex, and is being read to you by Maskah, his strongest henchman. Isaac, your plan to defeat Tolbi is fruitless. Our power is more than you can imagine. You have just witnessed a sample of that power from Maskah. His psynergy alone can thwart your plans. I could have him kill you all now if I wished. But, I want to be there to watch you die. So, I offer you an agreement that I know you cannot refuse. If you allow Maskah to leave Shaman Village with Felix's body, I will allow you free passage into Tolbi. Then, you may fight me for Weyard and your petty freedom. After Maskah leaves, I have another message for you in Contigo detailing on how to get into Tolbi unnoticed. It has been a pleasure doing business with you. Signed, Alex."

Isaac felt the words sink in for a moment. Felix was dead. And Maskah was the one who killed him, on Alex's orders!

What coward sends a henchman to do his dirtiwork?

Isaac was infuriated. So angry that he forgot the attention he had thought Maskah required. There was no way he would let Alex get away with this. He would kill Maskah, right here on the blood-stained ground where his best friend's body lay.

Maskah rolled up the parchment, a smirk creased across his wrinkled face. "So, Isaac," he said slowly, "do you accept my master's agreement?"

Isaac gave Maskah a cold stare. Something had come over him after he had listened to Alex's message. His mind was no longer being controlled. No more would Maskah be able to control his responses. So he spoke, in a low, cold tone, "No. We will fight you and show our worth. We will not let your master get what he hopes to achieve."

Maskah's patience was being tempted. This insolent child really thought he could defeat Maskah?

Does he not know the legacy of my power?

"I cannot let you pass here unless you agree to the treaty offered to you." answered Maskah in a silky tone that demanded respect.

Isaac could feel the pressure on his mind to be controlled, but he did not give in. He would avenge his friend's death. "Then we will fight you," he answered, "and earn our passage to Tolbi."

Maskah was angry, but he didn't let the anger control his actions.

I will give them one last chance...

"I have proven my power to you," he replied, "So I will ask you once more. Will you agree to my master's treaty?"

But it was too late now. Isaac's drive for revenge was too great. He had to fight this man, and prove his worth.

"No." he said cold and simple.

"Then we will fight." answered Maskah, stepping forward.

Isaac quickly beckoned to the others, who had been standing to the side, shocked. Garet and Ivan walked to Isaac's side. Long ago, this was their party. They had once shared a goal, a dream. Now, they would fight as a tandem once again. Not for the lives of others, but for their own, and for their fallen leader. Jenna, however, did not move. She continued to kneel beside her brother and stare at his wound with glazed eyes. She could not accept it, her brother, one she had cared for for so long, was dead.

Isaac looked down at her with pity. He knew what it felt like to lose a family member. For almost three months he had thought his father, Kyle, was dead. He was devastated that the man he had grown up with was gone. The day he had learned from Felix that his father was alive was one of the best of his life. He had felt reborn, a new fire lit within him to see the lighthouses lit and the quest fulfilled.

Isaac watched as a tear fell from Jenna's eye. Her normally fiery red eyes and demeanor that sparked Isaac's love seemed to have left her.

Maskah looked down at Jenna, then up at Isaac. "Get her up." he spat. He wanted to get rid of these adepts as soon as possible. His master would be so pleased.

Isaac ignored Maskah, and leaned down to where Jenna was kneeling. He put his face on her shoulder, his lips brushing against her wavy red hair. He looked at her, but she did not return it, continuing to weep at the sight of her brother. Isaac knew there wasn't much he could say at this point. But he had to say something. He was the only one she would listen to.

Isaac turned to Jenna and whispered into her ear, "You always have me. I will always be here for you. Remember that."

For the first time, Jenna looked up at Isaac. Her teary eyes met his confident ones and they shared a moment of pure love without saying a word. "Oh, Isaac." she whispered, reaching up to embrace Isaac. Her tears flowed harder as she held tightly to his body.

Isaac knew that Jenna needed him now more than ever. He would hold onto her for as long as she needed. But, it wasn't long before she broke the embrace. They looked into each other's eyes again, and Isaac saw in hers a look of pure determination.

"Are you ready?" he questioned simply, knowing full well the answer. Jenna nodded and grabbed Isaac's hand. Isaac pulled her up and turned around, looking at Garet and Ivan. They all shared the readiness now to fight for the revenge of Felix.

Garet had grown up with Felix, he had always been there to support him. Ivan had met Felix truly in Contigo. He had always been a true leader, and would always hold a place in Ivan's memory. Jenna was his sister. She had known him the best. In the times when he was silent, she could read his emotions and help him through his toughest times. And Isaac. Isaac had shared the Venus psynergy with Felix. They had always been friends, and had been ready to fight to the death for each other.

Now, they were going to engage in this fight. They would look into the face of evil, and attack it. They would do it for their leader.

For Felix.

~

[Split Infinity]

I'm surprised at how you managed to draw out such a short event for so long. It probably would of unfolded at the speed I was reading it. Interesting.

[Sea of Time]

This is an important part of the story. I don't want to miss anything.

[Split Infinity]

Is there some sort of hidden meaning in that post, or were you just referring to the 'message'?

[Dasius]

Whoo! another great chapter SoT I can't wait for the Maskah battle it's gonna be awsome

[Sea of Time]

The next chapter is nearly finished on paper.

To avoid confusion, this is how it should be read. First I will tell Piers' view of the fight, then I will tell Isaac's. Then I will finish the chapter with Piers again.

[Platinum Sun]

Ow...
I just read 1-18 in a single sitting.
I had to print some of them out because the computer screen was hurting my eyes.
I do normally wait awhile until I see that the author is serious about his fic before I read it, (I hate reading abandoned fics) but I let this one slide for waaaay to long.
Too tired to say more stuff...
Keep up the good work

[Split Infinity]

Hey, I do that too. I print out every new chapter and make it into a 'book' of sorts.

~ 994 ~

[Platinum Sun]

Cut to: Two hours later. (Man, I read slow through my new cataracts.)
Staring at a computer screen in the dark for three hours kinda gets to you after awhile...
Well, you want criticism, I'll give it to you:

Jenna has purple hair dammit! This is the fifth fic I've read that gives Jenna red hair and I'm sick of it! Your portrayal of Jenna's personality is flawless. But you could've screwed all that up if you had just given her the right color hair and I wouldn't have cared! Gerr...

Ok, we get it. Alex is evil and burned a lot of stuff. In chain-massacre scenarios like this, the emotional
impact dosn't stack. If destroy too much.

You may have wanted to make it clearer where they were at the beginning of the Maskah flashback. I envisioned Alex meeting him in his Tolbi Palace, not is a mysterious cave. That whole transition there was kinda screwy. You may want to add cheesy timeframe references to some of those sections. You know like: "It seemed like a lifetime, but it was only two years ago." Stuff like that. It makes a big difference is mental orientation.

Lastly, in 23, even with all the "Heat of Battle" and "grieving loss" stuff going on I still find myself wondering about Mia, Piers, and Sheba. I know you're going to do split perspective on it, but are you going to turn this into a Jupiter Lighthouse scenario with them joining during the battle? That would be kind of disappointing. Something needs to happen to them, something involving Sheba. I don't know like... she pukes and grows a tail or something- it dosn't really matter what. It just seems like we're too focused on the battle and are going to get bogged down in it with the dramatic deaths and emothional turmoil and whatnot. It wears on you after awhile.

There's grammatical stuff, normally I would whine about that, but quite a few have beaten me to the punch.

Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of good stuff, but that's not what you asked for and you've probably heard that all before.

I'm giving it to you anyway though:
Good transition in the fight between Alex and Maskah. Like Alex's old self was killed to make room for the perfect killing machine. Which leads me to the parallel you're drawing between Alex and Felix. (Or were I suppose, only one of them is technically dead.) They're both being overcome by their thirst for vengeance. (Especially after the "now it's personal" scene in Vale.) And with any luck, both will die in that pursuit.
You're making an addictive product SoT. I'm watching you.

Phew! The critiquing is over and it's almost midnight, Time for doughnuts!
Well that was fun. I'm going to go soak my head in a bucket of ice now. (Or acid, I haven't decided.)
I hope my misguided ramblings in some way motivate you SoT.

[Sea of Time]

Platinum Sun, on Jul 5 2006, 10:53 PM, said:

Jenna has purple hair dammit! This is the fifth fic I've read that gives Jenna red hair and I'm sick of it! Your portrayal of Jenna's personality is flawless. But you could've screwed all that up if you had just given her the right color hair and I wouldn't have cared! Gerr...

My mistake, but I will continue to use red hair.

Quote

You may have wanted to make it clearer where they were at the beginning of the Maskah flashback. I envisioned Alex meeting him in his Tolbi Palace, not is a mysterious cave. That whole transition there was kinda screwy. You may want to add cheesy timeframe references to some of those sections. You know like: "It seemed like a lifetime, but it was only two years ago." Stuff like that. It makes a big difference is mental orientation.

Reading back on that now, that was a chapter that shouldn't have been rushed. Not having the chance to edit my work opens the door for things like this to happen. Once again, I should have been more specific.

Quote

Lastly, in 23, even with all the "Heat of Battle" and "grieving loss" stuff going on I still find myself wondering about Mia, Piers, and Sheba. I know you're going to do split perspective on it, but are you going to turn this into a Jupiter Lighthouse scenario with them joining during the battle? That would be kind of disappointing. Something needs to happen to them, something involving Sheba. I don't know like... she pukes and grows a tail or something- it dosn't really matter what. It just seems like we're too focused on the battle and are going to get bogged down in it with the dramatic deaths and emothional turmoil and whatnot. It wears on you after awhile.

You have no idea what's coming next. <_<

Quote

Good transition in the fight between Alex and Maskah. Like Alex's old self was killed to make room for the perfect killing machine. Which leads me to the parallel you're drawing between Alex and Felix. (Or were I suppose, only one of them is technically dead.) They're both being overcome by their thirst for vengeance. (Especially after the "now it's personal" scene in Vale.) And with any luck, both will die in that pursuit.
You're making an addictive product SoT. I'm watching you.

Phew! The critiquing is over and it's almost midnight, Time for doughnuts!
Well that was fun. I'm going to go soak my head in a bucket of ice now. (Or acid, I haven't decided.)
I hope my misguided ramblings in some way motivate you SoT.

Thanks a lot for the critique. I really appreciate it and I hope you keep reading right to the end.

[Platinum Sun]

Platinum Sun, on Jul 5 2006, 11:53 PM, said:

Lastly, in 23, even with all the "Heat of Battle" and "grieving loss" stuff going on I still find myself wondering about Mia, Piers, and Sheba. I know you're going to do split perspective on it, but are you going to turn this into a Jupiter Lighthouse scenario with them joining during the battle? That would be kind of disappointing. Something needs to happen to them, something involving Sheba. I don't know like... she pukes and grows a tail or something- it dosn't really matter what. It just seems like we're too focused on the battle and are going to get bogged down in it with the dramatic deaths and emotional turmoil and whatnot. It wears on you after awhile.

Now there's something that ought not be taken at face value. The whole post is kind of like that. Remember, it was really late and I had just spent upwards of three hours reading this entire thread. I suppose I was thinking Shebas illness was along the lines of the "Fated fatals" that I've seen in other oracle characters. A fated fatal is when someone the oracle loves is going to die and there's nothing he or she can do about it. Their innate abilities are trying to summon a vision of the death, but their subconscious is blocking it, resulting in physical discomfort.
Since Sheba's illness resulted from Felix's impending death, the actual occurance of his death should have more profound effects on her. And I don't mean like, emotional revalation profound. I mean like, Avatar State killing spree profound. PM me if there are other points where I was unclear. It's not a stretch to say that there are more.

Sea_of_Time, on Jul 6 2006, 12:57 PM, said:

You have no idea what's coming next. <_<

For what it's worth, I think that's a good thing. Because if I knew what was going to happen, I would stop reading and write the fic myself. (And it would be soooo much better than yours, mine would have ninjas!)

[Sea of Time]

I look forward to your fanfic then. <_<

Quote

A fated fatal is when someone the oracle loves is going to die and there's nothing he or she can do about it. Their innate abilities are trying to summon a vision of the death, but their subconscious is blocking it, resulting in physical discomfort.
Since Sheba's illness resulted from Felix's impending death, the actual occurance of his death should have more profound effects on her. And I don't mean like, emotional revalation profound. I mean like, Avatar State killing spree profound. PM me if there are other points where I was unclear. It's not a stretch to say that there are more.

That is a good idea, but that's not what's going to happen. Just wait and see, I think you'll like the twist I throw into the next chapter.

[Mikey09]

absolutely amazing. i stayed up till abouit 2 last night reading it for the first time and i just now finished it lol. very good. and i agree with the guy that said some books cant even hold a candle to this. very good story.

[Platinum Sun]

2 AM, wow. Good thing you didn't stay up even later writing a long review like I did. It turns out kind of incoherant and rambly and makes you look very stupid.

[Sea of Time]

I'm here to post Chapter 24.

As some of you may have noticed, on the first post of this topic I have added a simple guide to the seperate storylines of the story, just to clarify to those who may have been confused by the multiple ongoing stories being told in GS:ATW.

Also, I'd just like to clarify once again that this particular chapter is seperated into three seperate parts. (Seperated by a '~') The first section is Piers' view of the Adepts' battle with Maskah. The second section is Isaac's view of the battle. And the final section is Piers' perspective after the battle is completed. So, just so you don't get confused, the first two sections are happening at the same time.

This is a very long chapter, so I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. <_<

~

Chapter 24

Piers squinted, trying to pierce the darkness with his vision to try to see where the others were. He hoped that nothing had gone wrong.

"If they bring back Felix, I will be so happy." said a kneeling Mia from behind Piers.

Piers turned away from the north and looked back at Mia, who was kneeling over a sleeping Sheba. "So will I." he answered. It was the truth too. Piers had been an outcast after he left Lemuria, but when he met Felix he finally felt wanted. Something about him, perhaps the fact that he could lead without saying a word, just made him easy to befriend. But Isaac and the others had been gone so long...

Mia echoed his thoughts, "Do you think they will be back soon?"

Piers thought for a second. He then replied, "Isaac will not fail. They will return."

Mia nodded and turned her attention back to Sheba, who had begun coughing in her sleep. Mia quickly put her palm on Sheba's forehead and cast Ply. Sheba's coughing immediately stopped and she fell back into her slumber.

"Is she going to..." started Piers, but he was cut off by a howling noise from the outside. It was the wind, it had started to pick up again. Tents left standing started to flap wildly as the wind continued to pick up. By instinct, Piers grabbed Mia by the hand and put Sheba on his shoulder. He struggled against the wind to walk towards the inn, almost falling off balance. As he got up to the door, a loud thunder crack boomed above them. It was followed by another one, and another one, each one louder than the last. Piers tried the door handle, but it was jammed shut.

Mia, who was hanging on for her life screamed over the wind, "Use your sword!"

Piers could barely hear her, but her message got through. He reached for his Excalibur, struggling against the wind, and pulled it out of its sheath. With a swift blow, he split the door in two. It was open. He ran inside, with Mia by his side, and Sheba on his shoulder. He lay Sheba down on a nearby cot, then ran to push another bed up against the open door. As he lifted the bed up to block the sound of more oncoming wind, Mia screamed from behind him.

Piers frantically turned around. Mia was looking out a window at the back of the inn, facing north, staring into the distance.

"It's happening again!" she yelled over the still-present tornado.

Piers rushed to the window to see for himself, expecting the worst. What he saw was a mirror image of what had just transpired merely hours ago. There was a huge thundercloud above Trial Road far to the north. From the cloud, there was a funnel of wind, a small tornado shooting down poised to hit the ground. It was mere seconds before it did hit the ground, a huge dust cloud appearing as it did. As the tornado hit, both the wind and the thunder around them became immensely louder. Piers and Mia both clapped their hands to their ears, grimacing from the ear-splitting sound. Then, it came. The lightning bolt appeared again above Trial Road. This time, it appeared to split into smaller bolts before it hit the ground. But a split second after it struck, a tremendous roar came from above them. It was the loudest of all the thunder and it deafened Piers for a second. Then...it was over. The thunder stopped, the winds died down, and the thunderclouds parted, revealing the much-awaited morning Sun.

It was the calm after the storm.

~

Isaac had never met Maskah before. He had not heard nor read of his legacy, even though Maskah's downfall had happened right in his hometown. And yet, he felt like he had expected this fight for so long. What he had not expected was that he would not be fighting with Felix. Instead, Felix lay dead in between both parties. On one side was Maskah, who had long awaited this first chance to please his master in battle. On the other side were the four adepts. Just half of the party that had single-handedly saved Weyard from fading to nothingness. Now they were fighting to protect Weyard from a different fate. One that threatened to split the world in two.

Isaac unsheathed his Darksword. He was ready to fight for Weyard. He would fight for freedom and for his fallen comrade.

Beside him the other three pulled out their weapons. Isaac looked at Jenna, Garet, and Ivan. They all shared the same look. They were ready.

It was time.

Isaac was the first to make his move. He drew his Darksword and rushed at Maskah. As he took his first step, his black sword let out a high-pitched howl. Isaac smirked. Maskah would taste the full strength of his blade. As he swung the blade at the neck of his enemy, another large translucent sword appeared in mid-air above him. It was clouded in a black mist. Acheron's Grief. The most evil of all unleashes. Poised to strike Maskah at the same time Isaac did.

But something unexpected happened as Isaac's blade was supposed to hit Maskah. The Darksword was stopped just before it would have hit Maskah. Maskah didn't even blink. He had expected a physical fight from Isaac, who had just lost his blood friend.

Acheron's Grief fizzled where it had been formed. There was no attack made. Isaac could not hit Maskah. His turn was over, and Isaac could not believe it.

Why can't I strike this man? Just who am I facing?

Jenna looked over at the shocked Isaac. She too was confused. There was no way someone could block an attack like that with mere psynergy. She decided to take a less physical approach on her attack. She raised her palm to the dark sky above them, a red light formed in her hand. "Dragon Fume!" she yelled, summoning the strength to create the dragon-shaped flame. It appeared out of the ground, opening its mouth with surprising realism. The flame soared into the air, then dived directly at Maskah. But before it hit him, it too fizzled out. This time the flame was disintegrated by a purple haze that Maskah had summoned with little energy. Maskah was growing impatient.

Fools! When will they realize that I am too strong for any of their attacks!

Maskah raised his palm to the night sky now. It was his turn to prove his power. But he wanted to enjoy this moment and make the deaths painfully slow for these young adepts.

I will give them a taste first.

He raised his palm, a purple light shining from it. It was time for the adepts to learn why Maskah was the strongest wind adept in Weyard's history. "Spark Plasma." he declared. He knew the adepts would think it was a weak psynergy. How wrong they would be...

Isaac had expected better from a man who psynergy and physical girth seemed not to affect. As he thought this, a dark thundercloud formed above the adepts. Isaac braced himself for the upcoming attack. Quick to follow the thundercloud, streaks of lightning started to rain down on the adepts. They fell hard and fast, and as the bolts hit Isaac, he knew that this was no normal Spark Plasma. It was as if each bolt of lightning raining down on them had more pure electricity packed into it. The electric shock drained Isaac of valuable energy and he staggered as the thundercloud disappeared. Isaac was reeling. He had taken much more damage then he had expected. He closed his eyes for a moment. He had some time to gather himself before his next attack.

Garet was drained as well. He looked at the other three and saw weakness in their strength. If they were to survive another blow like that one, they needed healing. Garet reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear vial with a light green liquid inside. A Mist Potion. These were rare, expensive items, but they packed a strong healing punch. Garet looked over at Isaac, who nodded back at him, approving of his decision. With the approval of his leader, Garet tossed the vial high into the air. It hung in the air for a moment, before falling towards the ground. As it hit the ground, the vial shattered, and a green mist clouded the adepts in a cool healing wave. Garet, Ivan, Jenna, and Isaac all felt better, if only a little bit and they were ready to fight again.

Now, finally it was Ivan's turn to attack. Maskah's Spark Plasma had not affected him as severely as the others. With Garet's Mist Potion, he was now at full health. He evaluated his options for a moment. Isaac's Darksword had not affected Maskah, so his Tisiphone Edge was most certainly useless against this enemy. Dragon Fume had not even touched Maskah, and Ivan had no psynergy that was even close to the strength of that particular psynergy. So that left him with one option. Djinni. Ivan had nine at his disposal. Since Maskah had not taken any damage up to this point, an offensive djinni would probably be the best choice. Ivan decided on his favorite, Gust. He was now ready.

"Gust." he proclaimed, in a strong tone. Ivan drew his Tisiphone Edge. As he raised the blade, the ghost of a Jupiter Djinni appeared above his head. His blade began to glow in a purple aura. He jumped at Maskah, the djinn filling him with energy. But as he approached Maskah, another unexpected occurence came to pass.

As soon as Maskah had seen the djinn above his foes head, he knew he was in trouble. His aura of defense was not potent enough to block an attack from the elemental creatures. He knew he could probably take the hit, but he did not want to risk it. His mind raced for a counter-attack. In a split second, it came to him. A psynergy that could counter this young man's attack. One Maskah had taught himself long ago, deep beneath Anemos.

Ivan was in mid-air when Maskah shot his palm into the air. In that climactic moment, he summoned the psynergy that would protect him. "Djinni Storm!" he shouted in a booming voice.

Immediately, Ivan fell from the air as a huge psynergetic vortex surrounded all four of the adepts. Ivan felt all his added strength leave as his djinni went into recovery mode. All the other adepts had the same feeling. With one counter, Maskah had not only avoided an attack, he had stolen all bonuses entirely from the adepts.

Isaac dropped to one knee. For the first time, he realized that he had severely underestimated Maskah's power. There was simply no way around it, Maskah was god-like in his strength. Now all four adepts had used up their turns, and Isaac dreaded the fact that it was time for Maskah to go on the offensive once again.

Maskah smiled. It was time for this battle to end, time for these adepts to learn his true force. He would use his most formidable attack. One he had used for the first time three years ago, proving his power to Alex. Alex had survived that attack, but only hours ago, the adepts' leader, Felix had not. Now these four adepts would succumb to its raw power and taste its wrath.

Inside himself he summoned all his energy and raised his palm. The Jupiter haze covered it once again, and as he raised it, the wind began to billow all around them. Maskah laughed out loud and yelled over the howling wind, "It is time to feel my true power! Now face your fate and your destiny! STORM SURGE!"

As his deep voice boomed those last words, thunder rumbled from far away. The sound became louder and louder, closer and closer, never ceasing. All four of the adepts clapped their hands over their ears as the wind and thunder combined with deafening results. Isaac was truly afraid for the first time in this fight. He had witnessed this psynergy before.

This is the psynergy that killed Felix.

Now, the storm was coming again, and Isaac saw the huge thunderhead cloud forming above them. He realized that he was looking death in the face. As that thought hit him, a funnel of wind came down from the thundercloud. Isaac had seen this tornado before. As it hit the ground, Isaac was crushed and fell to the cold stone. This tornado was unique. It did not lift its victims into the air, but rather it did the opposite. It crushed its victims to the ground, crippling them. As Isaac hit the ground, a sharp rock pierced his knee, causing a wound which immediately began to bleed. Isaac screamed in agony, but he could not get up. The wind was pinning him to the ground.

Then, it came. The climax. The thunder became even louder, and Maskah was laughing almost as loud. Then, it struck. A lightning bolt at least two hundred feet wide shot to the ground. As it got closer to the ground, it split into four seperate bolts, each striking an adept directly in the chest.

Isaac felt his breath catch. He had felt the bolt hit, but the pain had thrown him into shock. He turned over, facing the sky. The cloud above him was fading, but so was his vision. As his sight faded, he was greeted by the sunrise and by Maskah walking into his line of sight.

Maskah looked down at him with contempt and said calmly, "The offer still stands."

Isaac heard it but it did not register. With one final flash of pain, the world went black.

~

A mile away, inside the inn at Shaman Village, Piers was wondering what the hell had just happened.

Mia looked over at him, a questioning look on her face. "How do two identical storms fall on the same day?"

Piers pondered her question for a moment, then answered, "I don't think it was coincidence that those two storms happened on the same day. I'm not going to say that was a form of psynergy, but that would seem to be the only logical explana..."

But he was cut off again, this time by Sheba who was shaking uncontrollably on the cot they had laid her on. Piers ran over to her bedside, fearing the worst.

"Help me hold her down!" cried Mia. Sheba was now having a fit. She had broken out in a cold sweat, and seemed to be having a seizure.

Piers held her shoulders down, but as soon as he touched her, Sheba's eyes snapped open again. She stopped shaking, but she began to sweat more profusely, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

Then, she began to speak. Her voice was deep and ominous, but unlike in Vale, the voice speaking was definitely hers. She spoke, "Fear the past for the misdeeds of long ago will come to affect the future," her eyes opened wider as her voice became more frantic, "Treyana! We will die and he will take us there! Fear the past!" But, as she spoke the last words, her entire body slumped into the cot. Sheba had passed out.

There was silence for a moment, but before Piers could say anything, there was a loud knocking on the doorframe from outside.

Mia looked at Piers, "Is it them?"

"Must be..." muttered Piers, walking to the bed blocking the door, still reeling from what he had just heard. He summoned the strengty to push the bed out of the way. He did, and he looked outside.

To his surprise, it was not Isaac or any of the other four adepts at the door. It was an old man in white robes, with a black lace tying them on at the waist. He stood there, staring at Piers with a curious smile on his face.

Maskah still had unfinished business in Shaman Village.

~

[Platinum Sun]

Turns? Ok, this is a Fanfic. Not a game. The turns are only to make a battle system. In a fanfic you can have realtime action, things happening simeltaneously, people getting knocked off cliffs, characters grappling or threatening eachother and lots of exciting stuff like that. Don't be bound by the game. It's not a game anymore, it's an epic.

A 200 foot lightning bolt? :lol: I realize that Maskah is all powerful and you don't have to be realistic, but come on. That's just crazy. :joy:

Quote

Isaac had expected better from a man who psynergy and physical girth seemed not to affect.

Uhhh... what :angry:

Another vision? B) That's the incredible event with Sheba I would never see coming? <_< Don't get me wrong, it was totally appropriate, but don't jerk me around makin' me think stuff is gonna happen and whatnot.

Otherwise fine.

Unfinished business... this is going to be good.

[Sea of Time]

I'm gonna come right out with it, I was not comfortable writing the battle scene in this chapter. I realize that it comes off as a game, but I was doing my best to stay real to the Golden Sun battle type. The thunderbolt does not have to be realistic in its size because this is a fiction. Weyard is not related at all to our world.

And I'm not finished with Sheba yet. If I had written all I wanted to in this chapter, it would be too long. I decided to pass some of it over to Chapter 25, if that's okay with you. <_<

On to the next chapter then...

[Platinum Sun]

Man, I say some mean stuff when I'm coherant... Well, I'll let you go through your paces and I'm sure it'll turn out allright in the end.

[Mikey09]

i say let him write it how he wants. but i kinda like how they had the turn order in the battle. it was kinda funny lol. but if u wanna change it thats ok to.

[Sea of Time]

I'm not sure if there will be another battle quite like that one again in the story, but if there is, I will retool it so it doesn't 'feel' like a turn-based game.

[Toasty]

That was awesomeness. The first real battle. Took you a while to get there, but it was great. If I ever learn C++, the first thing I'm making is a game based on this.

[Sea of Time]

That's a real compliment Toasty, and I'm glad you're back to reading.

[Toasty]

I actually might get a chance to learn C or C++ in the possibly near future :D . But I doubt that I would be skilled enough to do this justice. :)

[Mikey09]

hmmmm.....not to sound dumb or anything but....wat is C++? just thought id ask.

[Platinum Sun]

C and C++ are programming languages. I'd explain further, but you don't really need all the details do you?

[Mikey09]

no im good lol. so whens the next chapter comin up? take ur time though.

[Sea of Time]

It's coming out right now. <_<

~

Chapter 25

"The offer still stands."

Maskah's last words swam through Isaac's head like a fish through the darkest of waters. Isaac had lost all memory of his whereabouts, his friends, even his past. He had no access to his mind, all he was left with were Maskah's last words. He was not dead, that much he knew.

So he was lost in the darkness of his own mind. Maskah kept reappearing in his head, speaking those last words over and over again. It was like a horrible nightmare, one where no matter where you turn, the same occurence returns. Isaac kept trying to think of his friends, trying to remember their names. But everytime he got close to remembering, a vision of Maskah invaded his mind.

Then, a small light appeared in the distance of Isaac's mind. It was like Isaac was looking through a tunnel, and the light at the end was coming closer and closer. As the light expanded in his mind, one name penetrated his subconscious.

Jenna.

He remembered her now, remembered the memories they had shared together. Her face entered his mind, and it was like the darkness had shattered as the light filled every crevice of his mind.

He remembered everything now. The fight with Maskah, the lightning bolt striking each of them, Jenna's emotions, Felix...

As the death of his friend came to his mind, Isaac's eyes snapped open. The world was fuzzy for a moment. It eventually came to view, and he noticed he was still lying on his back on the cold stone. His eyes were greeted by the afternoon Sun, which was directly above him.

Felix...

He averted his eyes from the Sun to look for his fallen comrade. As he struggled to his feet, a twinge of pain from his chest made him stop for a moment. He looked down at where the thunderbolt had struck him. His shirt had torn, but to his surprise, there was only a scar on his chest. There was no way that sort of wound could have naturally healed that fast. Somebody else must have healed him...

But who?

Isaac looked around at the others. Garet, Jenna, and Ivan were all still unconscious, lying in identical positions on the ground. They were all sprawled in the shape of a star, their arms and legs wide apart. There was no doubt that if he was alive as well. They were equally as tough as himself, and clearly the attack had not been potent enough to be lethal.

As Isaac looked around at the blackened stone around him, he noticed a key figure missing. Felix's body was gone. What was there was a pile of his weapons and armour. Maskah had clearly left with Felix's body. Isaac remembered the conditions of Alex's treaty. Even though it was by force, it appeared they had held up their part of the bargain by giving up Felix's body. But would Alex hold up his end?

Then, Isaac remembered Maskah's final words once again. He had told them that the offer still stands. So, unless the whole thing was a hoax, Alex was prepared to give them into Tolbi. Isaac knew Alex too well to think that he would set them up. Alex was a delegator. He was very good at getting what he wanted by making bargains and treaties for his enemy.

Isaac needed now more than ever to talk to the rest of the part. So much had transpired since they had arrived in Shaman Village. His thoughts returned to Sheba, who had led all of them here, and who was clearly sick the last time he had seen her. He hoped that she would be alright.

She has to know that this wasn't her fault.

Before reviving the others, Isaac crawled over to the pile of Felix's things, his chest still hurting. At the top of the pile sat the Millenium Helm, and underneath it was a chain mail. Isaac moved these things out of the way. He knew what he was looking for, and for some strange reason he knew it was here. Finally, at the bottom of the pile, he found it. The Sol Blade gleamed in the afternoon Sun. For some reason, something deep inside him knew that it was right that he should take it. He took his Darksword out of its sheath and replaced it with the Sol Blade. Immediately, he knew this was right. He would fight with the Sol Blade and it would serve as a reminder of Felix's legacy. He would get his revenge on Maskah.

He put his Darksword on the pile of armour and stood up. The Sol Blade had infused him with the energy he needed to defeat the pain in his chest. He kissed his fingertips and rested them on the Millenium Helm.

I will get your body back, Felix. Alex will be stopped.

Isaac turned away from the pile of armour and walked over to where Jenna lay. He kneeled down, looking at her. She was not dead. She too had merely a scar on her chest. It would not take much to heal her. He put his palm on her forehead and muttered in a soft voice, "Revive." As the psynergy took effect, Jenna twitched for a moment but did not open her eyes. Isaac smiled. Her face was at peace, and she was so beautiful to him in that moment. He leaned down and kissed her, his lips merely brushing hers. As she felt his touch, Jenna opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize where she was, but as she saw Isaac over her, she was immediately grateful. She smiled and reached up to embrace him.

They had shared so much turmoil, and yet they still had each other. That moment was perfect for both of them, despite all that had transpired.

Jenna broke the embrace after what seemed like forever and looked up to Isaac, "I love you." she said simply.

Isaac looked back at her, sharing their moment of passion, "I love you too."

They embraced again, but this time it was Isaac who broke it first. He figured that it would be better if he told her the news before she saw for herself. He spoke slowly, not knowing how to put it into words, "You need to know...that Felix's body is gone."

Her emotions changed in an instant to horror, "What?...How?" she managed to stammer.

Isaac put his hands on her shoulders, "I'll tell you everything when we revive the others." he answered. Jenna nodded in understanding. She knew that Isaac would want to tell everyone at the same time. She did not have any reviving psynergy, so she left the job of reviving Garet and Ivan to Isaac. She struggled to her feet, overcoming the sharp pain in her chest, waiting to make sure she was alright to walk. Jenna held her arms out in front of herself to check for injuries. Other than the obvious one on her chest, there were no others. Luckily, she had not hurt herself falling to the stone.

Isaac walked over to Garet and Ivan and, in turn, placed his palm on their foreheads and cast Revive. The white light from Isaac's palm made both of them twitch with life. In mere seconds, Garet had opened his eyes, followed closely by Ivan. Both of them were fine, Isaac was glad.

It took them a moment to completely became of the surroundings, and after a minute or so, Garet spoke first, "Am I alive?"

Isaac and Jenna both laughed and Isaac answered, "Yeah, Garet, you're alive. Now show me, both of you, if you can stand up." Garet struggled, grunting with the pain, but eventually got to his feet. Ivan was much faster to his feet. Long-term pain had never been a problem for the young wind adept. He seemed to naturally heal faster than the others.

As they both came to their feet, the blatant absence of Felix's body struck both of them. "Where is he?" asked Garet, knowing that Isaac would know who he was talking about.

Isaac beckoned to the others, it was time for him to share his theory with them. They surrounded him, Jenna putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think that before Maskah left, he healed our wounds and then left with Felix's body. He left Felix's weapons because they would be too much of a burden for his journey back to Tolbi."

"Why would he heal us?" asked Garet, "Why didn't he just leave us for dead?"

Isaac replied, "After the lightning strike, before I passed out, Maskah stood over me and said 'The offer still stands.' I think by keeping us alive, he is making sure that Alex can be the one to try to finish us off."

"So, what do we do now?" asked Jenna, from beside Isaac.

"Well, we should go talk to the others and tell them all that has happened. They are probably worried about us by now. I think our next step is to travel to Contigo and get the information we need from Alex."

"What if it's a trap?" questioned Ivan.

"I think that now we must go meet with the others, I will answer that question later." replied Isaac. In truth, Isaac didn't know whether there was a trap or not. He only had a strong feeling that it wasn't.

The others nodded in answer. They were all somewhat worried about the conditions of Piers, Mia, and Sheba, but they knew that it was almost guaranteed that Isaac's party had faced the greater trial. So, they all turned to where Felix's body has been, and gave their respects for one last time. The stone was still stained with his blood.

"We will get you back, Felix," said Isaac strongly, "We won't let him take you."

And with that, they turned their backs and left the summit of Trial Road. It did not take long for them to travel back to Shaman Village. Each stage at Trial Road had a simple way to travel back to Shaman Village, which was advantageous for the four anxious adepts. When they reached the bottom, they walked for a couple of minutes and quickly reached the town square.

After two tremendous Storm Surge attacks, there were no tents left standing up. The only buildings left standing were Moapa's house and the town inn. Piers and the other two were nowhere to be seen.

Isaac looked around at the others, "They must have taken shelter in one of the buildings."

First, they checked Moapa's house. The door was locked, but a swift blow from Isaac's Sol Blade solved that obstacle quickly. Isaac kicked the broken door out of the way, revealing the wind-torn contents of the house. The place was a mess. Beds, barrels, and even the wood stove had been blown out of position. From what they could see, no one was here. Isaac had Ivan quickly check the basement, but had no results. They were not here.

So they left the house and ran over to the inn. Isaac was genuinely worried now. He thought they would have seen the others by now.

Unlike the house, the inn's door had already been opened. Isaac looked inside and saw what he had feared most, an empty room. Beds had clearly been moved here as well, but none of the windows had shattered. Isaac walked in and looked around the small room. There were two things that caught his eye. The first was a blue hair on one of the small cots at the back of the room, proving that either Piers or Mia had been here. The second thing he noticed was a small piece of parchment on the same cot.

Isaac picked it up, having a pretty good idea of who it was from. He read it aloud to the others, who had been close behind him the whole time.

Isaac,

I have decided, despite your irrational decision to fight me, to still keep my master's offer in play. I have taken Felix's body and will bring it to Tolbi with me. Because you decided to fight, I have decided to take more than I had planned. I have also stolen the other three as well and will take them with me. My master expects you, and if you want to see your comrades again, you will follow these simple directions.

Travel to Contigo. At the center of the town, you will find a note. On the note, you will find the instructions you need to get into Tolbi.

We will meet again.

Maskah

Isaac stopped for a moment. He looked at the others, who stared back at him with glazed eyes. They were all in shock at what they had just heard.

Maskah had taken everything.

~

[Platinum Sun]

W00t for dramatic tension! Alex is just like that. He can't just kill you. Then he has no one to torture and force to jump through hoops of fire for his amusement. I await your next installment.

[Toasty]

Heheh. SoT's a baby. Good chapter, can't wait for more.

[Mikey09]

very good, though i did find at least 1 grammatical error.....but lets not get into details shall we?

[isaac rules]

lol, i found the error also...but they are no big deals. i haven't been on much, so i had a lot of reading to do, perfect for using up time in my day that needs using. anyways, i like it, and it would make an awesome game.

[Sea of Time]

Can people stop hinting at my mistakes and show me? I can't improve if you stand back and giggle while I continue to make the same mistake. :agitated:

[isaac rules]

lol, true, but its so much funnier, and eviller if i might add if we hint your mistakes and wait for you to frantically look through your work to find the mistake. anyways, i forgot it already, but i'll have word look through it for the errors since i'm too lazy to read through it again...

He had no access to his mind, all he was left with were Maskah's last words. there should be a semicolon instead of a comma, theres a few of those, so i'll leave them out.

It was like a horrible nightmare, one where no matter where you turn, the same occurence returns. occurrence has two r's.

At the top of the pile sat the Millenium Helm, and underneath it was a chain mail. apparently Millenium has two n's (didn't know that)

The only buildings left standing were Moapa's house and the town inn. were should be was.

[Platinum Sun]

isaac rules, on Jul 19 2006, 02:52 PM, said:

It was like a horrible nightmare, one where no matter where you turn, the same occurence returns. occrrence has two r's.

It's spelled occurrence.

isaac rules, on Jul 19 2006, 02:52 PM, said:

The only buildings left standing were Moapa's house and the town inn. were should be was.

"Moapa's house and the town Inn" is a compound subject. That means it's treated as a plural in state of being conjugates.

[isaac rules]

i did type occurrence like that...anyways, SoT needs spell check, its on these forums you know

[Platinum Sun]

When you typed it you skipped the U. And spell check used to be here, I'm not sure what happened to it...

[Sea of Time]

When you get to be as good as me, any small error can count against you. Spell check doesn't work on the forums and if I find the time to edit my work, I will.