Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

Summary: Ten year old Lloyd Irving was captured by the Desians, only to be rescued by an angel. Unknown to him, that angel only wants to use him as a tool to communicate with the goddess Martel...

Spirits

Chapter One

A pair of brown eyes peeked over the edge of a table where a dwarf worked, tools of his trade spread out before him.

"I told ya ta play outside until I was done Lloyd," said the dwarf without looking up from his work. "You promised to behave if I brought you with me; don't make me regret that decision."

With a heavy sigh, the owner of the brown eyes stood up to reveal a boy no more than ten years old dressed in an over sized red shirt and baggy blue pants that were stuffed into a pair of old, worn, brown boots. Tousled brown locks that stuck up everywhere and a dirty face completed the ensemble, making him look like a wayward urchin. Lloyd, as the dwarf had called him, leaned forward and placed his hands on the table, a pleading look on his face.

"But I want to watch you."

Now the dwarf did look up, censure in the blue gaze he turned on the boy that quickly became resignation as he took in Lloyd's appearance. "Why aren't you wearing the clothes I made you?"

Surprised, Lloyd looked down at himself, then frowned as he looked back up. "I am wearing the clothes you made."

"No, those are my clothes, Lloyd. Yours would actually fit you."

"They're really itchy, Dad..."

Making a tching noise under his breath, the dwarf stood up. He was only an inch or two taller than the boy, but Lloyd still shrank back a little. "Didn't you wash them like I asked you to?"

"Uh..." began Lloyd as he flushed red and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "I guess I forgot. Heh. But anyway," he continued, changing the subject, "why can't I watch? I thought that was why you brought me."

"Because," said the dwarf as he gently put a hand on his son's shoulder and led him to the door, "this particular item I'm making is in the strictest of confidentiality. That means," he added as Lloyd's brow furrowed in confusion, "that I'm not allowed ta tell anyone about this, or show them what it is. After I'm done, I have a few commissions in Palmacosta that I brought you along to help with; they're simple customization jobs that I think you're old enough to handle now."

"Really?"

"Yes, but only if you go outside now and leave me in peace."

"Okay!"

Lloyd rushed out the door and down the spiral staircase that led into the main congregation area of the House of Salvation, and then, after nearly knocking an older man down, ran outside where he found a small bench to sit on. He had already deemed it his bench earlier, before he'd grown bored with his play and gone to see what his dad was up to. Now, he sat with his feet swinging slightly and tried to think up a new game.

It really wasn't much fun playing by yourself, and none of the travelers had any children with them and definitely had no time for a bored little boy. He really wished Colette could be here, or even Noishe who enjoyed playing the mighty steed of the great knight, but Colette wasn't allowed to leave Iselia and Noishe, though huge was terrified of monsters and Dad had decided it would be best to leave the dog at home.

Thankfully, the priests at the temple and High Priestess Phaidra had agreed to feed Noishe if he would stay just outside the temple entrance. That way, Colette could still have someone to play with and Noishe wouldn't get lonely.

Of course, now Lloyd was lonely. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and began scanning the ground surrounding the House of Salvation for any sticks. "Don't worry, invisible army, as soon as I can get the famous sword Flamberge, I will save you from the wicked Desians that put the curse upon you!" Lloyd cried out suddenly, startling a couple who had just walked up the path.

Flamberge was the name of a sword he'd seen in one of his dad's books. Lloyd remembered every detail of the fiery blade almost as if it had burned itself into his mind. Shorter than a broadsword but just as wide, curved slightly, and notched at the end, Lloyd had asked his dad if the dwarf could make it for him. "You're a little young for swords," his dad had said, and that had been the end of that discussion.

So, that particular sword became the central theme to any of his make-believe games. Sometimes he was a priest who was looking for a way to take his revenge on the Desians who had killed his charge, the Chosen (Colette always played this with him; it was partly her idea), and the sword Flamberge imbued special powers on the wielder. Other times, it was like what he was pretending now; he was a mercenary or general trying to save the people he loved and admired and only Flamberge could do this.

Unfortunately, unlike Iselia, which was very near a forest, this particular House of Salvation sat on the grassy plains, so there weren't any good sticks to use. This didn't stop Lloyd though, as he found a particularly nice rock and picked it up. "Those Desians," he muttered, "They have stolen the sword, but with this magic stone, I will be able to transport myself to them and take it back."

And so it went, with him having imaginary discussions with his troop captain who was the only one that could be heard and Lloyd was the only one who could hear him, on how to activate the magic stone and what tasks he had to complete in order to get to the Desians until he got bored again. Sighing, he went back to his bench, only to recoil in shock and disgust as he saw the couple from earlier sitting there cuddling.

"Yuck," he said, wrinkling his nose.

The young man looked up and grinned at him. "One day, you won't find it so yucky, trust me."

Lloyd stuck out his tongue and shook his head before replying, "Uh-uh, I don't think so."

The girl giggled. "Aw, you're so cute. Did you manage to save your army from the Desians?"

Deciding to forgive them for being yucky, Lloyd shook his head. "Nope, they all died in a horrible rock slide caused by an earthquake. Luckily though, it got rid of the Desians too."

"Oh? If only it were that simple," the young man said, looking at his girlfriend with worry. The girl smiled at him and put her hand on his. He shook himself and smiled at Lloyd again. "Where are your parents?"

Lloyd plopped himself down on the ground in front of them, having decided that they were his best friends now. "My dad's inside doing some craft work; he says it's confid..conf..um...that only he is allowed to know what it is."

"Oh, probably something the church has commissioned," the girl said, "a divine something or other. My name's Olga and this is Olaf." She gestured to her boyfriend.

Before Lloyd could respond, there was a loud explosion. Olga gasped and clutched at Olaf as she looked around wildly for the source. "They...they can't have found us already?"

"Never mind, just get inside," said Olaf as he stood and grabbed her hand, "You too kid." Without waiting for acquiescence, he pulled the girl along unresisting to the sanctuary.

For a moment, Lloyd considered following them, his heart beating very fast as the loud boom of more explosions made their way to his ears. For a moment. Then, his natural curiosity overrode his fear and he crept down the dirt path, keeping as close to the small wooden fence as he could, as it curved around to the other side of the House of Salvation.

At first, all he could see where clouds of dust billowing in the air that seemed to be getting closer. As they neared, Lloyd's heart began beating wildly again because it looked like a group of people being chased down by men in blue armor, with a few of them using fire and lightning magic—the cause of the explosions. Desians.

Without pausing to think, he looked down, picked up the biggest rock he could find and ran out to meet the oncoming group.

"Get out of here, child!"

"Oh sweet Martel, don't try to fight them..."

"Damn, kid..."

That and more met Lloyd's ears as he shoved his way through the group of humans the Desians had slowly been herding towards this area, but he ignored them, determined to do something. How dare they try to hurt people? Oddly enough, though they protested, no one actually tried to physically hold him back.

When he had made his way to the other side of the group, he picked out the likely Desian commander and let loose the rock. It hit the man in the head dead-on, thanks to lots of target practice in the Iselia woods trying to keep rabbits away from Noishe, but wasn't enough to do more than daze him thanks to the protective helmet he wore.

"You Desians leave these people alone!"

Everything went unnaturally quiet then as all eyes turned to Lloyd. He swallowed fearfully, but stood his ground, glaring his defiance.

Finally, a Desian broke the silence by laughing. "I'm impressed. Lord K'var is looking for one like you."

Lloyd scowled in the direction of the voice and found himself looking at the man he'd hit with the rock. That smile gave him the creeps, especially since he couldn't see the eyes. Still, he held his ground, thinking about his dad back in the House. What if they decided to attack the sanctuary, in spite of the rumors that the Desians feared anything to do with Martel?

The Desian laughed again and strode forward, easily picked Lloyd up and held his struggling form under one arm. "The rest of you, get the host bodies to the Eastern Ranch as soon as possible. Thanks to them, we've found a subject for our leader, and I will be taking him back to the Asgard Ranch as soon as possible."

Lloyd growled and continued to struggle, swinging his arms and legs wildly to no avail. "Put me down you...you...Desian!"

"Temper, temper," the man said in amusement, as if Lloyd were merely a bad child he needed to reprimand, and continued walking on, looking back over his shoulder as if to ascertain that his other orders were being carried out.

((((((((((

Those images...I saw so many images...were they from the Goddess?

She spoke to me...I couldn't hear her voice...but she spoke to me...she was so sad...

Oh, I was visited by Martel. Is it thus that I am not fit to be in Her divine presence?

Those words and many more reverberated through his skull as he stood looking up at the ghostly shape entwined with a flower shaped of mana-the great seed. Was Martel trying to tell him something through those failed vessels? Had he been too hasty in killing them immediately after their failures?

The fact that he could be missing something his dear sister was trying to tell him, haunted him. Would Kratos have betrayed him if he had known Martel was trying to speak? Would those Chosens have been better vessels if only they had known what Martel truly wanted? But, he couldn't afford to sacrifice this Chosen for such an experiment. She was too close a match, and besides, if it failed this time there wouldn't be enough mana to sustain Sylvarant. That world would die, and Tethe'alla, linked explicitly with it would perish alongside.

Yggdrasil, leader of Cruxis, paced back and forth through the Seed Chamber. Perhaps he could he use one of the ranch prisoners? A young human no one would miss...

A smile crept across his face but didn't reach his eyes. Yes...

((((((((((

Lloyd huddled in a corner of the cell he had been placed by himself, shivering in the threadbare grey tunic and trousers the Desians had made him put on. How many times had Dad told him not to go rushing off without thinking? A lot of times, usually right after Lloyd fell in a creek because he wasn't looking, or when he had thought Colette was being held captive at the Martel Temple and tried to break in...

Colette. Silent tears rolled down his face and he buried his head in his arms, miserable with sudden loneliness. Would he ever get to see any of them again?

"Is that the one?" A cold, cruel voice broke through the gloomy silence of the room. "He doesn't look like much, does he?"

"I can assure you Lord K'var, that this boy is everything you're looking for," said the hated voice of the Desian who had captured Lloyd, "I've got the bite marks to prove it."

So fast his neck almost snapped, Lloyd looked up and glared at the two Desians on the other side of the bars. One was still dressed in a blue uniform, but the other was resplendent in royal blue robes and jewelery. This Desian was without a helmet and his blond-white hair was carefully styled. He was smiling at Lloyd in a way that made him want to curl up into a little ball and hide.

"Ah, yes. So the little inferior brat shows some spirit. Hm...bring him along to the testing room. I want to see if he can survive a battery of tests. If he does, then he'll be perfect...if not...well, it will be one last human to worry about."

"Hey, I'm sitting right here you know?" Lloyd said, full of bravado. He was afraid that if he showed his fear, they'd kill him right away.

Ignoring Lloyd, the richly dressed Desian walked away, as the other opened the cell doors. Lloyd was ready for this and darted out and around him, and started off down the corridor. Before he could get anywhere, his whole body seized up and he began shaking uncontrollably with pain as an electric shock jolted through his system. When it had done, he fell to his knees panting.

"That was only a small one, human," the Desian told Lloyd as he picked him up, "try anything like that again, and you'll be fried enough to feed to the monsters, no matter what Lord K'var is expecting of you. We can always find another one."

Lloyd hung limply from the Desians arms, too weakened to even struggle, but thinking murderous thoughts.

Soon enough, they were in a room with machines and things Lloyd had never set eyes on. The Desian put him down on a table and strapped cold metal onto his hands and legs, tightening them almost painfully, before walking over to stand beside a wall with lots of little blinking lights. The other Desian, the one in the robes, stood beside him and smiled that creepy smile.

"Stupid Desians! I hate you!"

As if Lloyd hadn't said anything, the creepy one reached over and flicked a switch. "And now the tests begin."

Agonizing pain, worse than the electric jolt he'd just received, exploded behind his eyes and moved down through his body.