Started on: Sunday, September 14, 2008, 7:42 PM

Finished on September 14, 2008, sometime around 12:00 PM.

Contains spoilers for the game Dawn of Mana. I wanted to see more of the aftermath of the final battle in the game, and the effect it had on Keldy, so I wrote this. I wasn't sure it was good enough so I didn't put it up but I just finally decided to. I hope you enjoy it :)

Memorable Spirits

Keldy felt miserable and completely alone. There was a hole in his heart that felt too big to be filled in anytime soon. Keldy stared around hazily at the surrounding lush green landscape as he sat on a comfortable grassy hill; trees swayed and rustled in the breeze, birds chirped, and the sun shone warmly. Buju, Ritzia's pet rabite, bounced energetically around Keldy. The boy's right hand lifted slowly to pet the yellow-furred creature as Buju stopped bouncing for a rare few seconds. Then the rabite hopped off again and began hurling its round body up at leaves that were twirling down from the trees. Keldy stared at his right hand, missing the vines that had once circled it. The glowing blue spot on his palm, indicating the seed was nestled inside his hand, was gone.

It was odd: Keldy had taken a while to get used to having a seed from the Great Tree in his hand and vines around his arm, but it had been pretty cool that the vines had been able to change into a sword, whip, and slingshot. It had really come in handy during Keldy's journey.

Ritzia had taken the seed out, though, and now his arm was back to normal. Keldy winced as he felt a sharp, painful squeeze around his heart.

Ritzia.

Illusia had been restored thanks to Ritzia, Faye, and Keldy, and all the others who had fought with them to fend off the Lorimarian Army, grimslies, and other monsters. But Keldy didn't feel like enjoying it without his best friends, and without so many of the Tree Folk. They should be enjoying the restored world too.

Keldy hung his head; Ritzia, Faye, Lek, and so many other citizens of Illusia....they were all gone now. The moment Keldy's journey had started, he'd had a strong hope that he'd be able to save his friends and the world, then go back to his home in Illusia with them....and hang out like always. Even though he hadn't been born in Illusia like Ritzia or Lek, it never stopped him from feeling like he really belonged there.

I don't know where I came from....and I don't need to. I'm one of the Tree Folk now.

Or so Keldy had thought until he'd come across his older brother, Stroud. When Keldy found out they were related he'd had so many questions. They were still clear in his mind even now.

Why did he want to get rid of me? Why didn't my parents stop him? Did he get rid of them, too? What did everyone on Lorimar think of him? Why did he become that way? Why couldn't we have gotten to know each other better? His brother had tried to get rid of him when he was just a baby. Stroud was the king of Lorimar, so Keldy had been born in the Land of Ice. From what Stroud and Ritzia had told him, Keldy would become the king of Lorimar if he defeated Stroud. That was probably why Stroud had tried to get rid of him—before his younger brother could grow up and possibly take Stroud's place as king. But Keldy never wanted to do that—he'd have been glad to find out that he had a brother if that brother hadn't been trying to kill him...he'd almost killed Keldy and his friends several times. The guy had been king since he was seven years old, his position secured since Keldy was gone.

But...would it have been different if Keldy had tried to convince Stroud they shouldn't fight? The guy wasn't much of a listener. Even if Stroud had almost killed Keldy he still had some sympathy left over for the guy...because he was his brother...and because he was dead now. Keldy himself had struck the final blow. The same was true for Leks and Ritzia...but not because he wanted to; normally, either Keldy died or his opponent did, but....Lek, Stroud, and Ritzia had been corrupted and turned into Grimslies. The Elder of Illusia, the one who'd taken Keldy in as a baby, had been near the door to Mavolia when it had opened but Keldy had never seen his Grimsly anywhere. Keldy assumed, with a throb of pain in his heart, that the Elder hadn't been strong enough to stand up to the evil power that had come out of the door, so he hadn't even turned into a Grimsly. But Keldy had felt a thrill of relief and happiness when he'd seen the Elder speaking with some young inhabitants of Illusia, and realized that he'd somehow made it through.

Ritzia had turned back to her old self just before she and Faye had joined with each other and the tree's seed, which had been implanted in Keldy's hand, to restore the land....but Lek hadn't turned back to normal.

You'll wish you'd taken...the advice...of your....best....friend.....

"Ritzia....Faye....I'm so sorry...." he choked, finally feeling warm tears streaming down his face, "you made the restoration of the world possible and yet you aren't here."

It'll be alright. You're not alone, after all. Ritzia and I are always with you. We wouldn't let you carry this burden all by yourself.

Keldy clearly remembered that moment: he'd struck the final blow on Ritzia with tears in his eyes, and she'd turned back into her normal self. Faye had floated down to her, and Buju had been changed back into his normal form too....he closed his eyes and thought back.

Keldy, hovering over Ritzia, Faye, and Buju, gazed down at his friends. They appeared to be in a different realm that was soaked in pure white light. The boy felt like he was floating, and saw the brown haired girl below him. She appeared to be floating as well, but was on her back, while Keldy was floating face-down towards Ritzia. Keldy was floating a little higher above her, but if he reached an arm out, he could have touched her if she reached up to take his hand. "Ritzia," he said softly, feeling a sensation of calm drift over him. Ritzia was back to normal...everything would be alright.

"Keldy," the brown-haired girl murmured back, sounding sleepy. She raised her arm slowly and offered her hand to Keldy, who reached out his arm and stretched it towards Ritzia. Taking her hand, he clenched it tightly and felt tingling warmth spread through his palm. A second later the sensation changed to a searing pain. He gasped as he saw Ritzia take the seed from his hand and lower her arm back by her side. Keldy thought he saw a slight smile stretch across her face as she said, "Keldy, thank you." Faye also smiled up at him, and then looked down at Ritzia and touched the girl's face gently. Keldy felt a sudden pulse of alarm as Ritzia blinked sleepily a few times and shut her eyes.

"All right, Ritzia. Time for us to go," Faye said soothingly, yet almost regretfully. Ritzia opened her clear blue eyes once as she glanced over at Faye in understanding, and then turned her head back, closing her eyes once more. Keldy felt his heart start to throb faster, and the calm that he'd felt was dissolving into alarm. What was happening to his friends? They were coming back with him, weren't they? The little spirit tilted her head up towards Keldy and gazed steadily at him.

"A maiden of the tree, the seed, plus a spirit..." he heard Faye start to speak again, "all become one, and then begins the birth of a new world....." The little spirit looked back towards Ritzia's still face. "That's why..." she said, and although Keldy didn't quite understand, he was beginning to and felt a pulse of dismay.

"Oh, no. Don't do it! Faye!!" He reached out an arm but it was too late; Faye was raising her left hand into the air, and the seed was lifting into the air above her hand, guided by it. A bright light began streaming out in all directions from it and Keldy was having a hard time seeing his friends through it. The light continued, and Keldy finally spotted Ritzia and Faye. The spirit appeared to be curling up, half on and half off Ritzia's shoulder. Buju's ears drooped and his green eyes closed forlornly as the two started to sink away from him. "RITZIAAAAA!!!!" His voice cried desperately and echoed strongly against the cavern walls. Keldy shouted as the forms of Ritzia and Faye started to become even smaller. The white light of the strange realm vanished and Keldy found himself crouching on a cliff ledge. He was back in the room where he and Faye had fought Ritzia's corrupted Grimsly form.

Keldy felt something cool and soft in his right hand and realized it was a shining white flower, the one Faye had given him after they'd gotten back to Illusia and met Ritzia, who then hadn't been a Grimsly, but still hadn't been the true Ritzia.

"FAYYYYYEEEEEE!!"The echo of the boy's desperate and anguished voice called his friends' names over and over. Keldy hoped for a return cry, hoped for them to come back towards him—anything—but Faye and Ritzia were still falling away from him, past the blue-green rock of the cliff, leaving him staring down into the chasm. As he watched, Ritzia's body began to shine brightly, and even though it nearly blinded him he kept looking down, kept reaching for them....

And then Keldy suddenly found himself near the entrance of the village. Everything looking peaceful, the way it had been before Stroud's 'visit' to Illusia. Keldy stood for a few moments, stunned from the disappearance of Faye and Ritzia, but still not quite believing that they were gone. Suddenly bright bursts of light, ranging from all colors of the spectrum, had begun appearing, seemingly born from the leaves of the tree. Keldy blinked and squinted—unless his eyes were tricking him there were hundreds of elemental spirits bursting from the leaves. Keldy had only encountered one of each of Gnome, Jinn, Undine, Salamander, Wisp, Dryad, Shade, and Luna on his journey but now there were multiple spirits of each of them, all flying separately away from the large fluttering branches of the Mana Tree. Buju had hopped up right after that, and together they'd watched hundreds of elemental spirits twisting and floating away from the tree.

Keldy sighed and opened his blue eyes, staring at the sword that was implanted in the ground right in front of him. A leafy fern next to it reminded him of the quiver Lek had once carried. His friend's arrows had been made from fallen leaves and served the village guard well, and Keldy admired Lek's skill, even when Lek and Keldy had fought each other.

"Why, what's the matter, young man?" Buju squeaked and Keldy stared down at the earth spirit, Gnome.

"Treant, Ritzia, Leks, Faye, and lots of others from Illusia are gone. Lots of people from Lorimar, Ishe, Topple, Jadd, and Wendell are too." Gnome nodded unhappily, tapping his feet and scratching his beard.

"This battle wasn't without its losses," he agreed, "and you know you're not the only one who's lost someone." Keldy nodded and sighed again.

"It just feels like it....feels like...I have nothing." He paused. "But that isn't true. I remember all the fun things I did with Ritzia, Faye, the village Elder, and Lek. We all became really good friends. And anyway...I'm still here, and if I really miss them I'll keep living and having a good time for them. I'll live like they'd want me to if they were here with me....just like Faye said. Ritzia wouldn't have wanted the world to be filled with darkness." Gnome nodded once, looking impressed with the young man.

"Good lad. You're wise beyond your years." Keldy rubbed his head and chuckled.

"Not really...." He stared up at the sky, which had started to shade towards dark blue, red, orange, and pink. "I miss them...I wish there had been some other way, but...if I gave up now then everything we've done together will be meaningless. I can't stop moving. It won't ever be the same without them, but I'll definitely always remember them. And somewhere...they're remembering me too. Someday...we'll meet each other again." Keldy smiled, then bent down, stroked Buju a couple times and then picked the rabite up. Buju squeaked happily and snuggled comfortably into Keldy's arms. Gnome watched Keldy as he headed off towards his house in the village.

"Good luck, lad. But ye don't need it." The spirit chuckled.

Keldy navigated the path, which was now lit with moonlight. The walk to the village, from the hill he and Buju had been sitting on, took about twenty five minutes, so the sky had changed from reds, oranges, and dark blues to a rich, deep blue dotted with white diamond starts. He passed the Elder's house and smiled, thinking of the one that had raised him and taught him to walk and talk. The Elder had also given Keldy his Def Flora, which the boy had replaced with a feather from Flammie, because Ritzia had given it to him. He still had his Def Flora, though, in a safe spot in his house. Keldy was passing Lek's house now, and the boy laughed softly as he recalled another memory. The day Ritzia had given Keldy the feather had been his twelfth birthday, and Keldy hadn't understood then that Lek had been a little envious of him. He once had liked her, but when he saw how close his best friend and Ritzia were, he became just a good friend of Ritzia's. Keldy realized that maybe Lek hadn't wanted to spoil their friendship together so he'd just let things go how they would.

"Thanks, Lek. You were the best friend a guy could have." He looked at the flower he still had gently cupped in his right hand. "You too, Faye...and Ritzia. I'll never forget you guys." A tear slid down the right side of his face, and he touched the wet spot, having not realized he'd been crying. He felt happy, but sad, too. Buju made a sniffing noise as Keldy opened the door to his house and stepped inside. Keldy set the rabite carefully down on the edge of his bed and took his everyday clothes off and set them on a stool at the foot of his bed, then got his pajamas: a white shirt with green sleeves, and green pajama pants. A white gleam caught his eye: Keldy had set Faye and Ritzia's white glowing flower on his bedside table and gazed at it as he slipped under his bedcovers. It glowed even more brightly for a moment, and Keldy squinted for a few seconds. The light subsided but the flower was still glowing strongly; it was like a nightlight. He laughed and grinned, then yawned and settled down under the covers, finally feeling fatigue from the battle.

"Lek, Ritzia, Faye....brother....good night." Keldy's bright blue eyes closed and soon the tired boy had dropped off to sleep with memories of his friends, and even ones of his enemies, close in his mind. Even asleep, he smiled.