Spirit of the Woods
Howling filled the autumn air. The sound spread readily through the plateau's crags and caves. At his father's cabin, Matthew spent half his adolescence on the plateau, and knew the sound of a pack getting its prize. It was easy for him to identify any of the plateau creatures by sound or sight. The coyotes Matthew heard tended to hunt in packs. They were hard to catch a glimpse of, as they emerged close to dusk. Hearing their call now meant camp would have to be made soon.
Matthew's father told him that the mountains and the vale were once home to mountain goats and falcons. That was before the range was replaced by a crater after the Golden Sun Event. When rivers dried, mountains blown to bits, and entire islands sunk, seemingly on the whim of the gods, the wildlife was forced to adapt. Isaac and his companions often faced disapproval for the changes, sometimes catastrophic in scale, and had to live with it for the past thirty years. As he grew older Matthew began to understand that even the Warriors of Vale second guessed their decision.
Matthew considered that he might finally be able to relate to the guilt his father dealt with. Only months earlier his group had been inadvertently responsible for a disaster that touched most of Angara; the Grave Eclipse. The reception and celebration in Belinsk and the emotional goodbyes with his companions had taken his mind off it. But the guilt came back full force on the trek back to the cabin. Corpses of the shadow beasts littered the countryside offered constant reminders. Matthew and his friends, Tyrell and Karis, had to bury the bodies of the monsters' victims more than once.
Tyrell and Karis walked ahead of Matthew by ten yards as they grew closer and closer to the cabin where they would be reunited with Isaac and Garet. The quest, and especially the events at Apollo's Sanctum, drew Karis and Tyrell, who typically bickered, closer together. It seemed to have had that effect on all of them. Matthew's thoughts drifted to Sveta.
"Here." Tyrell grunted his intention to make camp for the night. He dropped his massive bag to the ground and a cloud of dust enveloped it.
Too open, Matthew almost said before he remembered it was over. No more nightmarish monsters to fight tooth and nail. Matthew wondered if the paranoia that accompanied hiking the lands that fell under the eclipse's dark cover would ever go away.
Karis nodded, "I guess this works." She placed her bag on the ground and exhausted, she crashed on top of it without bothering to set up the tarp yet. Matthew smiled and put his own bag down to fish out the tarp. Karis finally sat up and gathered some twigs and logs together, throwing them at Tyrell's feet for him to start a fire. Tyrell closed his eyes for a moment and conjured a small flame that set a campfire ablaze.
Such cooperation between the two would be unimaginable to Matthew a year ago. He still remembered know-it-all nine year old Karis making up games to play with Tyrell, Matthew, and Matthew's younger sister Beth. Karis' two younger brothers weren't born yet. Tyrell on the other hand, was an only child. Karis' strong will clashed with Tyrell's short fuse on more than one occasion. One incident came back to Matthew in particular.
Matthew and the others would often play in the halls of Master Hammet's, Karis' grandfather, great palace in Kalay. Matthew's and Karis' family had homes built in the city and the palace was always open to the Warriors of Vale and their families. The kids would play pretend adventures and re-enact their parents' quest to light the four lighthouses by running to the four corners of the palace to pretend light each lighthouse.
Once Karis tried to force Tyrell to pretend to be the Proxian warrior, the villain of their games. He protested adamantly but was shot down by Karis who said "It's my Grandpa's palace". Tyrell could only bear ten minutes before he exploded in fury. Tears were shed. That was the one time Karis knew she went too far.
Matthew looked at the two now cooperating to create the fire. The turbulent events of the adventure, especially the eclipse, changed both of them had changed and they were closer than ever. Matthew didn't suspect either of any intentions other than platonic but Karis seemed to have found some common ground with Tyrell and vice versa.
Matthew finished spreading the tarp on the ground for them to sleep. He looked up and saw the richly lit navy sky and moon of early dusk shining: a welcome sight after the harrowing darkness of the grave eclipse which lasted several months. Not expecting a storm, Matthew didn't bother setting up any rain cover. The three companions sat up on the tarp watching the sun retreat behind the mountains in the west. Beyond them Matthew's parents claimed dwarves lived. Nothing but a tall tale to amuse children.
The events of the quest played in Matthew's head as they sat together quietly, too exhausted for prolonged conversation. First Tyrell's crash. Then the dark journey through the woods. Encountering the Tuaparang for the first time. Ayuthay's eerie glowing halls. Being lost and emotionally crushed after being trapped under Kaocho. The awe inspiring cloud passage. Their failure at Belinsk. Finally, the bitter cold of the endless wall and the intense heat of Apollo's Lens. And all the in between. Countless nights on the road and moments between friends who became a family. Matthew was very rarely the one to break any sort of silence but he was feeling unusually sentimental. "Our last night on the road," he said.
Karis smiled and Tyrell offered a load cheer of, "No more wild turnip for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" That turned Matthew and Karis' quiet smiles into laughter.
Karis responded, "Well I won't miss that. But we'll miss Rief, Amiti, and everyone." She was feeling equally sentimental. Matthew silently considered their friends, especially Sveta. He had grown extremely close with her, and being away was hurting him more than he expected. His mind went back to an often played memory: his last night in Belinsk with Sveta. It was hard to make sense of.
"Well we should pack it in. If we get up early we can make the cabin by noon." Karis offered after a short silence.
Tyrell smiled, "The cabin. Finally this insane escapade is over. My dad better be happy when he sees the precious feather."
Matthew fell asleep before his head in the tarp.
The rising sun broke Matthew's long sleep and he bounded awake with new energy. Tonight he would sleep the night on a bed. Today he would see his father again. Today he would be home. He looked over to the still sleeping Karis and Tyrell and saw a perfect opportunity to clear his head. He took Karis' hunting bow and set out to collect breakfast.
He headed down the hill they had slept on into a slightly green area of the Goma crater. The Golden Sun event left very little vegetation in the resulting crater, but this was one of the few great spots to hunt. Just enough grass to support wild hare and water flowed through from the higher parts of the crater. It was a sort of valley, or more accurately a divot in a massive crater. Matthew remembered his father teaching him to hunt in this exact spot. Hunched behind a log the two were as quiet as mice stalking tiny hare. Matthew imagined the pair must have been an amusing site, hunting the quaintest of prey with seriousness that only Matthew's father Isaac could muster. The greatest of the Warriors of Vale facing his greatest challenge, Matthew mused to himself.
Matthew was all too familiar with these wild hares. Their movements, patterns, and tendencies. He was also familiar with the fact that they made a delicious breakfast if prepared correctly. Matthew left that part to Tyrell, who surprisingly turned out to be a master cook. Yet again Matthew reflected just how much saving the world changes someone. Turning Tyrell into a cook is probably the most impossible change that actually happened, Matthew smiled to himself.
And there it was. A perfectly plump brown hare utterly failing to blend into the light green grass and red earth that was his backdrop. He readied his bow. He was nowhere near as good of a shot as Karis or Amiti, but this was one he couldn't miss. He focused his mind, held his breath, and…
Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a shimmering light. His concentration broke and the arrow flew haywire missing the hare by a yard and lodging itself harmlessly into the trunk of a pine tree. Matthew turned towards the light but saw only a doe golden in colour. It stared back at him with large black eyes. Its back was spotted white and its figure was slender but strong. A typical doe. So why can't I look away?
He slowly approached. The doe jerked but did not run. Matthew raised his arm. He slowly stepped through dead leaves on the forest floor towards the doe. Finally the doe bolted. Matthew followed it with his eyes. After only a few yards it stopped and turned back at Matthew. He thought he saw it's eyes sparkle, urging him onwards. Where are you leading me?
The laggard chase continued this way through the trees. Everything around Matthew seemed to slow down. The birds looking drowsy to him and the wind felt like warm breath on his skin. All the individual sounds of the forest began to blend together making it until all he could hear was a single peaceful hum made from the combination of the birds' songs and the wind. As it happened serenity washed over his body. He felt something trying to communicate with him. Something from beyond his realm. Some spirit of the forest. His eyes fixated on the doe so that all else around it became a blur of green and brown.
Then a flash. The light forced him to shut his eyes. When he opened them his vision and hearing returned. The doe was nowhere in sight. Instead his eyes focused on an opening in the side of a rock cliff. Surrounding it were markings, similar to those he had seen at the cloud passage. When they passed through the magnificent sky road Rief took thorough drawings of the markings. He showed them to Kraden later who had no idea what to make of them, and claimed they were like nothing he had seen. Matthew felt they must hold some legendary secrets as Kraden had seen many ancient markings, including the Great Lighthouses. If the markings didn't match then perhaps they contained secrets yet to be uncovered by his parents and the Warriors of Vale.
Matthew reached into his bag to get parchment and roughly sketched what he saw before entering the cave. He found the cave to be shallow with a single chest, a rusty shade of brown and covered in vines, inside. It wasn't much compared to the colossal ruins he had explored only months earlier. He moved to open the chest carefully being wary of the mimic chests that had a way of catching adventurers off guard. Touching the chest all he felt was cold metal; it was safe.
Matthew unsheathed his dagger from his hip and began cutting and ripping vines aside. Clearly the chest and cave had remained untouched for years. Taking a break he looked around the outside of the cave. There were no trees covering the entrance, in fact the closest tree was a giant pine ten yards away. He could spot a rough stone path a few yards past the tree. A cave entrance couldn't be more obvious. It was baffling for no one to have found it and plundered the chest before now. Especially with the amount of ranging his father and Garet did in the area.
Finally the vines were all clear. Matthew unlatched a rusty handle and heaved the chest. It would not budge. He glanced to see that the hinges were rusted shut. He conjured a small blast of earth psynergy to destroy the hinges and simply lifted the entire lid off the chest. Inside wrapped in cloth was a chain necklace with a small medallion. It was copper in colour and the medallion's markings matched those on the cave's entrance. He sensed no psynergy intertwined with it, rare for an artifact so old. This just gets more and more confusing. Why would someone hide away a useless copper necklace? And why did that doe, that spirit, whatever that was, feel it was so important for me to see?
Matthew pocketed the necklace anyways and walked towards the path finally ending the strange saga. He looked both ways on the path to try and get a handle on where he was in relation to Tyrell and Karis. Looking up he could see that it was noon. Remembering his initial goal for heading out early he thought I guess I won't be catching breakfast today. He made south, where he suspected he'd run into his friends. Sure enough he caught a glimpse forty yards away of red and green a minute later.
"Matt! Where the heck have you been?" Tyrell's booming voice questioned Matthew. Matthew knew his friend well enough to know he wasn't angry. Tyrell was too excited to finally be home to be angry.
Matthew gave Tyrell a goofy smile. "Just out for a stroll", he replied.
Karis tried to hold back a smile and jogged towards Matthew. She was excited too. The cabin had become like a second home to Karis over the past few years. When she reached Matthew she plucked the bow off his back, "That explains that mystery."
Matthew laughed, "I forgot I had it, I was trying to catch breakfast".
"Our fearless leader", Karis teased affectionately.
Tyrell walked past Matthew without stopping, determined to get home, "Next time you take six hours to catch breakfast at least bring something back."
After their adventure's final hike, they finally reached the wooden bridge leading to the cabin. Isaac and Garet built the bridge years ago to be able to get to the tiny plateau that the cabin was built on. The plateau was the perfect size and stability for the cabin. The closest to Mount Aleph Isaac could possibly have built it. Unfortunately it was quite the hike to get there, hence the bridge.
Matthew's morning detour meant that they reached the bridge at dusk, rather than at noon. He didn't mind because dusk was the most beautiful time to be at the cabin. The light of the setting sun enhanced the deep orange hues of the canyon's earth. The perfect sight for eyes that had longed for home for the better part of a year.
"Ah, it's good to be back," Karis said with deep satisfaction. Tyrell, unable to contain himself, ran to the centre of the bridge to take it in. Matthew smiled and he and Karis followed. As he walked onto the bridge Matthew saw it. He had no idea how they missed it before. His heart dropped.
Unaware Tyrell turned to Matthew, "Nice to see the good ol' cabin again, eh, Matthew?"
Matthew's lungs betrayed him. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. He felt his whole body tense up with fear and his mind began to race. Possibilities whirled through his head like a hail storm.
"What's wrong Matthew?" Karis spoke now still painfully unaware. Matthew didn't know what to say.
Tyrell looked confused, "Aren't you happy to be home?"
Still unable to speak Matthew pointed. Concern was written on Karis' face and her gaze fixated still on Matthew, "What Matthew?"
Finally Tyrell turned to look. To finally see it, "Look over there!"
Then Karis saw it too. The three companions stood shocked, unable to look away. In front of them was a giant psynergy vortex, threatening to devour the cabin and bridge alike.
Thanks for reading! This is my post-Dark Dawn fan fiction. There are chapters written from the perspective of all sixteen Golden Sun playable characters. I tried to cover all the major plotlines and mysteries from the first three games. There will be a lot of chapters, all are pretty short at 2000-3000 words.
The order of the chapters is not necessarily chronological order. It's close, but some chapters span hours, and some span weeks, so it's impossible for it to line up exactly. Each storyline moves relatively simultaneously so that it makes sense when they converge and diverge. There are points when certain storylines are left hanging for five or even ten chapters, but I promise the story always circles back to them.
The story will be told in two parts, this being the first. I've completely finished the first part, I just need to edit the chapters and upload them. I've started part two but that will come later. Hope you enjoy!
