1. Dark Element
He was a warrior that had accepted long ago that death came from mortality, but he had never imagined such an end. Felix dreams a fatal prediction. Can he do anything against the voices of the gods that threaten to turn him against his friends? Felix/Sheba
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Yes, so during my free time, I decided to revise the first couple chapters so I can keep it up to date with my writing style. Since it's been so long, I figured it would be a good idea. And yes, I do happen to be working on the updates, too. I'm taking a break—a rather long one…
*Rating for Felix's potty mouth and bloody messes, but that's about it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun. If I did, Sheba would have better hair. That said, please enjoy.
Golden Sun: Dark Element: Chapter One
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None but the Gods of the sky remember the ancient times.
The first world of man was one filled with beauty and immortality. The gods were proud of their creations, especially the elements given to man. They were overconfident, and rightly so. The powers of Sol, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Luna were the greatest in existence aside from the gods themselves.
The world the gods created was perfect in every aspect, though man was not.
Man became filled with greed and before long horded the power they had been given. Soon came the war. Darkness filled the hearts of those who wielded the power, thinking that their power was better than the power of others.
The powers were called psynergy, and were divided into six elements. The powers of Flame, Earth, Water, and Wind fought amongst themselves. Who was better? The fighting would surly tell.
But the strongest, and most arrogant wielders of the powers were that of Luna and Sol. The powers of light and dark fought a war all their own, thinking too highly of themselves to be involved in the struggles of the powers beneath them.
Then, tragedy became too great when the gods themselves became involved.
Finally, councils of the high court made a desperate decision: to seal these powers away.
And thus were the lighthouses built on a new world pure of war that man named Wayward.
Sol and Luna resisted terribly, however, and put up a fierce fight, deciding to work together to overthrow the high gods. In loosing, they were thus sealed from memory forever.
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It didn't matter if it was a dream or not, the whole thing still terrified him. Every time, he would wake in a sweat, with terrifying thoughts and a heavy breath. Felix had never feared his death. He was a warrior and death was what came of mortality.
But now…the thought scared him; a death like that…who could imagine? Shivers ran down his spine as his feet touched the cold wooden floorboards.
He pulled on his cotton nightshirt and stepped as quietly as he could into the main hall of the sanctum. Like a cat, he sulked against the wall, slowly adding his weight to the creaking floor. But he became careless, and a loud pop sounded from beneath his feet.
A hiss came almost instantaneously from an occupied bench by his door, "Felix!"
The battering storm outside couldn't rage as much as an angry Sheba. "Do you know how many hours I've spent trying to get that fever down?" She shoved him back towards the door, "For what? Hypothermia? You were sneaking outside!"
"No, I-" Her green-eyed stare cut him off. Sheba could be a wonderful woman, but she could be as much of a…well, like Jenna sometimes.
"You've had your chance," she said, "I'm standing guard right here." She sat promptly by the bed that he had been given since he'd become too sick to stay on his own. He had also been given Sheba to watch over him, and it'd been terrible.
Why not Mia? He had wondered many times; she was caring and nice, and gave her patients ice cream.
"Now," her tone softened slightly as she rolled her sleeve up, " let's check your temperature." She rested her small hand on his forehead, "Well…" she frowned, looking him in the eyes, "I've done everything I know to get it down." She was worried, he realized, finally seeing it in her eyes.
She had changed since the incident at the Mars Lighthouse three years ago. She was stronger willed, and more outspoken, but if anything she was wiser. She knew he was hiding something from her, and she could feel the darkness that had begun to infect him. He had always successfully blocked his mind from her, but maybe it was time to let down the mental barriers.
He didn't think much of the fever. He was sick, it happens. No big deal. It was the dreams that bothered him, and it was time for him to let her know. He sighed and lay back on his lumpy pillow.
"Read my thoughts," he mumbled.
"What?"
"Look at my dreams." He closed his eyes as she dabbed his forehead with a damp cloth.
"Are you sure?" Everyone knew that Felix enjoyed his privacy. Sheba wondered if he was indeed suffering from feverish delusions.
"Yes," he looked away from her questioning gaze. It was a pride thing that he kept his mind secret; it could be labeled male ego, and Sheba had always respected it.
"Get ready," she whispered, putting her hand back to his burning forehead, "here we go." As a hazy light glowed around her fingertips, they both tumbled into the darkness.
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Two stood before a large crowd. One wore all black and had long cascading silver hair. The other wore golden armor that matched his shining blond locks. They were battered and shackled ruthlessly; their shoulders sagged from the weight of the chains. Only the back of them could be seen from where Felix and Sheba watched. They stood invisible in the far end of a lush grand hall. Felix looked around with a growing anxiety. This wasn't the dream he'd had in mind. He didn't really care to see this one, but it was too late anyway. He remembered waking from this dream several times before becoming sick; it was the first in the long series of the dreams he'd been having lately.
An old man with long gray hair stood from the center of the room; he seemed to command all the authority, "On the charge of high treason…" he stated to the two, "The council finds you, guardian of the sun, guilty," the man cleared his throat to read more, "On the charge of high treason, the council finds you, guardian of the moon, guilty."
The dark one squared his shoulders despite the chains and said venomously, "Traitors?" he asked, "Who was it that sealed the powers of the gods away?"
The old man's eyes widened in anger as whispers erupted in the restless crowd. The dark one stood definitely, but seemed to lose his air when the golden-haired one beside him whispered something.
"Stop…don't make it any worse."
"Silence!" the ancient one yelled, "You are hereby sentenced to eternal retribution of the high court." He pounded his gavel on the podium where he stood. Those who sat on either side of him nodded in agreement.
A fitting punishment.
"Wait!" The old man's beady eyes swung toward a young teen with long blond hair. Felix found something vaguely familiar about her, but couldn't quite pin it down. Sheba found the girl disturbing, but she too couldn't find a base for this feeling, "They did only what anyone with enough courage would've done. You can't blame them for fighting the changes!"
"Remove her from the court," the old man growled.
"Father!" A man with stubble on his chin looked up from where he was sitting, beside the old man.
'You shouldn't be here,' he mouthed shaking his head.
"No…please." She broke free of the guard trying to take her away and ran toward the two prisoners. She stood, her feet planted firmly, between the council and the two on trial, "They did nothing!"
A soft voice spoke in her ear, "You have nothing to worry for." She turned around with teary eyes to the dark one with silver hair. He gently touched her cheek and time seemed to stop right there. The color seeped from the walls and all was halted, save for the three in the middle of the grand hall.
"What are you doing?" the golden one asked.
The dark one ignored him, staring into the girl's eyes, "I promise you," he said, " I will see you again."
"In the next life," the one beside him snorted, "Is that your plan?"
"It is," he said calmly. "We will all meet again." The girl stifled a cry and dug in one of her pockets, pulling out a silver chained necklace. On it was a medallion showing the figure of a beautiful goddess protected by enormous wings
"Here, " she said, putting it over his head, "This will bind your promise." She held his hand in both of hers,
"Speak it aloud," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I promise we will be together again," he said as color began to fade back into the room.
As the dream seemed to end, shapes began to fade and blend out of focus. The area where Sheba and Felix stood began to change from golden tiles to cold gray flooring.
Another dream had begun. Felix realized right away that this was the one that he needed to show Sheba.
Felix both feared and hated this dream; it had quickly become the worst nightmare he ever remembered having—and that in itself was saying something. Yet the worst part had to be the fact that this dream was more than a just recurring nightmare. The detail was so thriving that it almost seemed less like a dream and more like a terrible vision. When Sheba saw into the future, were her visions this detailed?
There he was in his dream, just like always, kneeling on a blood spattered tile floor. He could feel the heavy breath and pain where he had been injured. He could sense the cold tile beneath him and the stuffy, unmoving air around him.
He was also aware of his looming death.
He—the dream He—looked up as his defeater. The once proud warrior held shadow in his eyes, expecting the worse to come. The strength and smugness was gone, suppressed by the terror of his demise. He was no longer the Felix that his friends had grown used to.
Sheba stood behind the other Felix, watching with anguish…this, like the other scene they had just witnessed, was not a dream. It was too detailed.
And however badly she wished to deny it, her past experiences had told her exactly what it was: a prediction, and it would, beyond any doubt, come to pass.
As the dream Felix looked up into the eyes of his captor, he was kicked swiftly in the side. His weakened body tumbled against the ground and spit blood onto the silver surfaced floor.
"Kill me," he gasped, " but you'll never lay your hands on them!"
"Just an act," taunted the shadowed figure before him, prodding him with his steel-toed boot as a young child would likely prod a dead animal with a stick, "You'll give in because your terrified," A smirk could be barely seen on the slender being's face as he lifted Felix's chin with the tip of a long silver blade.
"Bullshit," the dream Felix coughed, "you'd kill me anyway."
"Quite right." The figure slowly pushed the blade into the adept's throat, slowly and painfully.
But before Felix would die, his opponent would have a little more fun with him. The other Felix knew it, and he couldn't watch anymore.
He grabbed Sheba's wrist, pulling her around so her back was now to the scene. "I can't do this," he said.
Her emerald eyes were wide in a nervous fear, " I can't stop it, Felix; I can't pull away." Having no choice, they both gazed back at his demise.
It withdrew its sword from his neck and began to walk a circle around him, as if contemplating how best to play with his pray. As the dream Felix rose, he was again struck down. The blade went straight through his upper arm, pinning him to the ground. A soundless gasp escaped his mouth. He was determined not to give his conqueror any pleasure of his defeat. The shadow figure chuckled.
What a pathetic show! He was fast loosing interest. He slowly wretched the sword from Felix's arm, "Pathetic…" he taunted, "Pathetic!"
"Fuck you," Felix growled before the sword rose again, pointing at his fragile heart.
Sheba gasped, and he hurriedly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her roughly to his chest, hiding the scene from her eyes. He held the back of her head to him, ensuring that she would not turn back to look. She did not need to see the rest.
The sword fell, slicing easily through his heart as he knew it would.
And the dream began to end as well, but he did not let go of Sheba until his hands loosened and he felt himself fall back into the pit of unconsciousness.
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He woke gasping, his covers twisted around him and his clothes sticking to him with the sweat of his feverish body. Sheba muttered something about his fever and again he felt the wet cloth dabbing on his forehead.
Felix felt so terribly weak and useless. The Venus adept ached all over and could barely move. He tried to make his arms work to sit up, but failed miserably and his head fell back into the pillow. He was aware of warm blood in his mouth and coughed it into his trembling hand before looking at the blonde with questioning eyes. She could see the intensity behind his chocolate gaze.
She had never seen such emotion in his face before. Was it fear? No, fear was too tame a word. What Sheba witnessed there in his eyes was quite simply terror. She should've figured it out earlier, when he invited her into his thoughts. He had been the only person she'd never read thoughts from. His mental barriers rivaled her own, and that was quite unexpected since only an Adept of Jupiter should know how to barricade like that. He'd always been a master of masking his emotions. The dreams had changed him; they had broken him down so badly. It was then she began to realize how weak he'd become.
Felix saw pity in her own eyes. She wasn't worried for him; she was trying to sympathize with him. Sympathizing? Had she ever seen her imminent death in her dreams? Well, perhaps, but she had never let on…what was there to identify with, anyway? He averted his gaze whispering, "It can't be stopped."
"Felix," she said, "the future isn't permanent."
His stare was accusing, "Don't lie to me, Sheba."
His voice had become hoarse; his throat felt dry and sore. His brittle strength was waning.
Before drifting off, he heard Sheba's soft voice say, " I'll pray for you..."
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END OF CHAPTER 1
Well, what did you think? Please tell me if I did anything wrong; reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!