Hello, everyone! My name is SirGecko, and this is my first work of fiction, so please bear with me. It's slow in the beginning, but as you go on, it gets better and better.
This chapter was replaced with the old one, in an attempt to make it a little bit more interesting. I also let up on Garet a little bit, and changed his lines around so they weren't so cheesy. So hopefully, those who read this chapter and disliked it, will like it at least a little bit better than last time. It has some filler, I'll admit that, but hey. What story doesn't?
So, I beg you to cut me some slack. Like I said, it starts out slowly, and then gets better as you go along. This is probably my worst chapter, so if you can read this, you can read the rest with no problem. By the way, I'm also gonna replace chapters 2,5, and 6 with some modifications, removing dumb lines, adding a little more description, that sort of thing.
And one more thing. I wrote these first few chapters five months ago, and naturally, writing improves as you go. So, by the time you get through the first five chapters, you've met my best writing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
*Thanks to Strata Alpha and Archer Cross for telling me ways to improve. I know I acted a little rash at first, but I wanna thank you guys for pointing this out. Hopefully, it will be a little more bearable for you.*
Chapter 1: United at Last
The sea was calm, sparkling blue, and as smooth as glass. It was a clear, beautiful day, seagulls soaring through the air. The weather was warm and pleasant, and a slight sea breeze was blowing.
Isaac sat there, taking it all in, the soft breeze playing across his face. It had been three days since they had left Lalivero, and the trip had been dull and uneventful so far. Isaac was on the deck of their Lemurian ship, and they were sailing to the Jupiter lighthouse. They had just received word from Tolbi that Lord Babi had passed away earlier than anyone could have guessed, for he had aged rather quickly when his draught ran out.
Despite disappointment, Isaac decided to head for the Jupiter Lighthouse instead of Lemuria, as that was now more important. He scowled as he remembered who he was pursuing.
Karst, Agatio, Felix, Sheba, Jenna, and Alex had taken a one-day lead on them. They had set off instantly for Jupiter Lighthouse. Isaac remembered seeing Karst's face as she met them outside of the Venus Lighthouse. Torn with rage and grief, she and Agatio vowed to avenge her sister's death by killing him and all people associated with him. She then took Felix, Jenna, and Sheba, and with Alex, they had teleported away. Isaac had remembered quailing under her furious stare. She and Agatio were from Prox as well, and more fierce-looking than Saturos and Menardi.
Putting them out of his mind, Isaac sighed, enjoying the weather, bathing in the pleasant sunlight. He had worked all morning scrubbing the side of the ship, and it was time for a break. Then, he heard a voice calling him. It was Mia's.
"Hey Isaac! What are ya doing over there?" she asked, coming over to him.
"Not much," Isaac said, somewhat calmly. "Just taking a break and enjoying the weather."
"Mind if I join you?" asked Mia. "I haven't got anything to do either."
"Sure," was Isaac's reply.
They both sat there, not saying anything for a long time. Both were thinking, not just about their quest, but about each other. Isaac knew that Mia liked him, and Mia knew that Isaac liked her. Just then, they heard someone come up on deck.
"What's the lovely couple up to today?" said Garet, grinning as he came up from below-decks.
"Shut up!" said Isaac and Mia at the same time, both blushing.
Garet fell silent, but that didn't stop him from thinking. I know those two like each other, he thought. They're just too chicken to say anything to each other.
Just then, Garet felt a weird tingling in his mind. He spun around, and he saw Ivan, looking at him, concentrating on him, eyes closed, palm raised.
"Dammit, Ivan, you know I hate it when you do that! Quit reading my mind!" yelled Garet, as Isaac, Ivan, and Mia laughed.
"What did he see?" asked Isaac.
"Nothing. He didn't see a thing," said Garet, in an innocent tone that everyone could read through. But, of course, Ivan knew. He had known for a long time as well.
"Hey, have we checked our corse lately?" asked Isaac, changing the subject. Ivan brought out a map of Weyard that they had found in a cupboard on the ship.
"Well . . ." said Ivan slowly. "We've been sailing east for a day and south for another . . . I'd say we're about here," Ivan finished, pointing out a spot in the middle of the ocean. "We should be at the Jupiter Lighthouse in no more than a week," he added. "Sooner if the tides are with us."
"A week? What are we gonna do on a stupid ship for a whole week?" whined Garet.
"I have no idea," said Isaac. "What are you gonna do?"
"Beats me," said Garet grumpily. "I know what you want to do."
This made Isaac think for a minute, but then he must have noticed. He knows I like Mia, he thought to himself. It's just that she means so much to me, I'm too scared to hear that she doesn't return my feelings.
"Okay, I'm starving. Who else is hungry?" asked Ivan. Everyone agreed that they were hungry, so they went below-decks to get dinner going.
*******
Hours later, after they had stuffed themselves with chicken and salad (especially Garet), everyone went into their cabins. It was late, and the group was tired.
Mia sat in her cabin on her bed, thinking about Isaac. He's so quiet and cute, she thought. He'd be perfect for me. She tried to shake the thought from her mind for now, but she couldn't do it. She started to just stare off into space. After a while, her Djinn saw Mia's behavior, and they went over to her.
"Mia, is something the matter?" Fizz squeaked with concern.
"Yes and no," said Mia after a moment. "I really like Isaac, I mean really. But I can't work up the courage to ask him how he feels about me. And there's also that issue . . . four years ago . . . you know."
"I see," said Fizz, after a moment. "Well, do you guys have an idea?" He asked turning to the other Djinn.
"Wait for Isaac to ask her!" suggested Spritz.
"No, he would've asked already if he had enough courage as well," said Fizz after considering this idea.
"No, wait a minute!" shouted Tonic. "It's not right for a girl to ask a guy. It has to be the other way around!"
"And just who made that a rule?" sneered Sleet. Tonic fell silent.
The Djinn sat thinking for a long time, while Mia watched. She really appreciated her Djinn's loyalty to her and her Djinn knew that. They were willing to help her in any way possible, and to protect her at all costs. The Djinn started to break down the situation.
"Okay, we of course know that Mia is infatuated by Isaac," said Hail. "We also know the same about Isaac."
"The only problem is that they're both too chicken," muttered Mist.
"Shut up, Mist!" snapped Fizz. "So what? I bet lots of people are this way."
"I have an idea," said Dew in a slow voice. "Why don't we ask Isaac instead of Mia?"
"I don't know," said Mia. "He'll think I'm a coward."
"He should talk," said Fizz, a bite of irritation in her voice. "He wouldn't think that if he truly liked you in return. In my opinion I don't see anything wrong with that idea." The rest of the Djinn nodded their agreement. "I'll go ask him now," said Fizz.
"Leave quickly, please," Mia said, "before I change my mind about this."
Fizz hopped off the bed and went through the open door. Now, all Mia and the rest of the Djinn could do was wait for Fizz's return.
*******
Ivan was getting ready to go to sleep for the night. Garet had watch, so he had no one to talk to. He could talk to Mia, but she was distant these days, obviously in thought about Isaac. Isaac was in thought also about Mia, and their quest, so Ivan assumed he wasn't in the mood to talk now either. Oh, well, Ivan thought. All of a sudden, one of his own Djinni appeared. It was Gust.
"Don't Djinn stay with the person of their respective element most of the time?" it asked.
"Usually, unless we want a class change," said Ivan. "Why?"
"Because I just sensed that Fizz, one of Mia's Djinn, went into Isaac's room," said Gust.
Ivan wondered about that for a second, and then he realized the only reason that could be. His face split into a grin. He told Gust all about it.
"Ah," said Gust, looking interested. "Perhaps I should go see what will happen," said Gust, "and I'll tell you when I come back."
He knew what Gust was doing was like being a peeping tom. But at the moment, both Gust and Ivan were too curious to care. "Fine with me," said Ivan, still grinning.
*******
Isaac lay on his bed, trying to get to sleep. He needed it, because he was on watch tomorrow. But all of the things running through his minds were keeping him awake. Mia was the biggest thing on his mind, but he didn't have the courage yet to ask her out, even though he was quite sure she wouldn't object.
He then heard a very soft tap-tap coming from his door near the floor. Puzzled, he opened the door to see what the tapping noise was coming from. He saw Fizz standing in the doorway.
"Excuse me," whispered Fizz, "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, it's okay," said Isaac, opening the door wider so Fizz could come in his cabin.
"I want to talk to you on behalf of Mia," said Fizz seriously. Well, as seriously as a squeaky little Djinni like Fizz could muster. "This is a sensitive issue; I beg you not to laugh."
"Okay," said Isaac slowly, wondering what this could be about. He had an idea, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too far. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gust come in the doorway as well. Isaac ignored Gust, looking at Fizz, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"You see . . . oh, this is difficult . . . Mia has strong feelings for you. She wasn't brave enough to ask you herself," Fizz began. "So, we decided to ask you for her. We just want to know what you think about her liking you," Fizz finished.
Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. A weight that had been growing on him for weeks felt like it had just been lifted off him. "Tell her that I feel the same way," said Isaac, "the exact same way. I would have asked her myself, but I was too cowardly."
"Okay then," said Fizz, looking happier. "I'll go tell her you said that." Fizz left the room, Gust trailing close behind.
Fizz went back to Mia's room and repeated everything that Isaac had said to it. Mia looked so happy that so did the rest of her Djinn. She thanked them all very much and lay down, wide awake for a long time, smiling to herself. She didn't know, but Isaac couldn't fall asleep either.
Gust went back to Ivan's room, and told him everything. Ivan's face cracked into a big smirk. It seems like this was a good day for them. He ran upstairs onto the deck to tell Garet. To his surprise, he found that his ear was pressed to the floor of the ship.
"You know, too?" said Garet. "It's about damn time those two hooked up."
"Yep, I agree. It's all thanks to Fizz."
"That little matchmaker," Garet snickered. So did Ivan.
Ivan decided to stay up and talk to Garet, so he and Garet sat on deck together. Ivan felt really happy for Isaac and Mia. So did Garet, but he was also trying to think of ways to tease them. They scouted for land every half an hour, kept their ears open in case they heard voices. They did.
After a couple hours, Isaac was still awake, polishing his Gaia Blade. Working on his armor and weapons allowed his thoughts to flow more freely, he discovered. Just as he was getting the last specs of dirt and grime off the hilt, he heard a knock on his cabin door. He knew who it was. "Come in," he said trying to stay calm.
Mia entered his room and sat down beside him. Isaac looked up from his work. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"Good," said Mia. "I'm glad you felt the same way I did."
Isaac admired Mia ability to cut straight to the point, instead of beating around the bush, as he often did. And, as though an invisible force was controlling his arm, he felt it put itself around Mia's shoulders. "So am I," he said happily. "So am I."
And so they talked. And talked. They talked about nothing and everything. It felt good to do all this talking. They only stopped when they saw the first hints of sunlight come through the cabin window, and they each decided to get some sleep. Mia didn't go back to her cabin. Instead she fell asleep right next to Isaac, her head resting on his lap.
*******
"When will they wake up?"
"Who knows? They did stay up all night talking and stuff, after all."
"Well, I hope they hurry up. We have work to do."
These voices floated through Mia's head as though they were underwater. They were distant and muffled. She was just waking up. She started to wonder why she felt so happy. Then, she remembered. She and Isaac were now together. She blinked, and looked around. She had wrapped her arms around Isaac's waist in the middle of the night.
More voices came through the walls. She recognized them as Garet's and Ivan's. Trying not to wake Isaac, she roused and left Isaac's cabin.
"Well, glad you could join us," said Garet sarcastically. "Ivan told me everything."
"How did you know about it?" asked Mia, her eyes narrowing. Ivan chose not to reply.
"I swear Ivan, if you read my mind one more time . . ." threatened Mia.
"No, I didn't read your mind, it was just that I-"
But he stopped there, horror-struck at what he said.
"What? Were you eavesdropping?" snapped Mia. "Garet, you might want to move," she said shortly to him, shards of ice flying from her fingertips. "I have an issue to settle with Ivan."
Ivan, meanwhile, was cowering away from Mia, not wanting to see the expression of combined embarrassment and fury on her face.
"Hey, Mia," said a new voice that made her jump about a foot in the air.
"Oh, good morning Isaac," she said sweetly. "I was just about to settle a personal issue with Ivan." Her face hardened at she looked at the cowering Jupiter Adept.
"Well, shall we get to work?" said Garet, looking around, trying to divert from the very nasty situation that might face Ivan.. "We need to find out how far we are away from Jupiter Lighthouse."
Mia, Isaac, and especially Ivan agreed that this was a good idea, Mia shaking her head at Ivan as he walked up on deck.
'He's a lucky little squirt. If Isaac hadn't shown up, I would've shown him how cold it was in January in Imil.'
So, the group all bustled around, nibbling on pieces of toast. Ivan figured out that they had made more progress than he thought, and he estimated their arrival at Jupiter Lighthouse in a few days. This cheered up Garet. All of a sudden, something rocked the boat.
"Monsters!" yelled Garet. He grabbed his Giant Axe from under a bench, and ran off up the ship. Isaac was also alerted by Garet's yell. He grabbed his shining Gaia Blade and rushed to his friend's side.
The monsters were light, just a few Man-o-wars and two nasty-looking seagulls. Garet attacked with his axe. It let out a howl and unleashed Meltdown. The man-o-war was destroyed. Isaac cast Grand Gaia, killing the remaining man-o-wars and severely wounding the seagulls. The seagulls attacked, but their razor-sharp beaks only dented Isaac's and Garet's armor. Isaac and Garet attacked and finished off the seagulls.
Mia rushed over to Isaac. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"Just fine, though I really wish I didn't have a dent in my armor," he said.
Everyone chortled, and headed down to grab a real breakfast, and not some toast. Garet then made a horrible discovery, well, to him at least.
"We're out of food!" He yelled, panic-stricken.
"There's a tragedy," said Mia sarcastically.
"Get off my case," Garet muttered.
"Yeah, I like to eat too," said Ivan as he went on deck. "Hey guys," he called. "I think I see a town ahead, and a beach. We can get some more food there."
"Great idea," said Garet, rushing on deck and directing the ship toward the beach, using the Cloak Ball. Isaac and Mia followed him.
"Always count on his stomach to think for him," said Isaac to Mia. "Oh well . . . sometimes it's for the better, I guess. At least he makes sure we'll never starve."
Isaac then leaned over the starboard railing to check the way they were docking on the beach. Garet actually knew how to sail the boat very well, and did just as good as any of the others. He then felt a gentle jolt as the ship ran aground on the beach.
"We've docked," said Garet eagerly to the rest, coming down the stairs at the front of the ship. "Let's get off."
It felt awkward to all of them to be on solid ground again, as they were used to the rocking of the boat. They all proceeded toward the town, swaying slightly. They watched the town loom closer. As they approached the entrance, two guards rushed in front of them.
"Stop!" one shouted at them.
"We just want into your city to buy some rations," said Isaac, stepping in front.
"What are your names?" asked the second guard.
"I'm Isaac, leader of this group," said Isaac.
"Me? It's Garet, longtime friend of Isaac," said Garet.
"I'm called Ivan," said Ivan.
"My name is Mia," said Mia, standing next to Isaac.
"Where do you come from?" barked the second guard again.
"We come from northern Angara," said Isaac.
"Are you Adepts?" asked the first guard.
"Yes, we are," said Ivan, looking surprised at the guards' questions.
"Prove it, then," snapped the second guard.
And that's just what Isaac and company did. Isaac Moved a stone pillar from one place to another. Garet knocked a tree over with Force. Ivan Halted a butterfly flying nearby. Mia Lifted a boulder into the air.
"Is that good enough?" asked Isaac, after they were all finished demonstrating.
"Quite," said the first guard. "Sorry if we seemed nasty. I'm Robert, and this is my apprentice, Tom. You see, this is a city where only Adepts can navigate; an ordinary person would get lost," said Robert. "The name of this city is Shaman Village, and we're waiting for the return of a very important item."
"Come on in; Adepts are always welcome here," said Tom, stepping aside, allowing Isaac, Garet, Ivan and Mia to enter.
The buildings were made out of beautiful, glittering stone. They quickly scouted out the inn, and went inside. They bought a couple barrels full of food, and they decided they wanted a look around. They found the weapons and armor shop, but there was nothing that would help.
But then, they saw a large tent off in a small corner of the town. It looked rather important, and smoke puffed out of a hole in the top. Thinking it was important, they went to check it out more.
When they passed in front of the entrance however, two guards came out, swords drawn, and pointed at Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia.
"Halt!" they shouted. "Moapa will see nobody!"
"Moapa?" said Garet. "Who the Hell is Moapa?"
"Do not use such language towards Moapa!" said one of the guards angrily. "We will see only those who bear the Shaman's rod."
Ivan's face lit up like a light bulb. But then it fell, as he remembered that Felix had taken the Shaman's rod on Venus Lighthouse, and, who knows what had been done with it by him and the others.
"We had it once, but then a man named Felix took it from us," said Ivan, looking down at the ground sheepishly.
"Ah, yes, I remember Felix," said the first guard, lowering his sword. The second guard followed suit, and they both sheathed them.
"Me too. He already gave the Shaman's rod to Moapa, and collected the reward. Moapa will not see you. Please step back."
"Where did Felix go?" asked Isaac, dreading the answer.
"The Jupiter Lighthouse," said the second guard. "Brave man, yet cowardly as well. Many do not come out."
"Just as I thought," said Isaac. "We have to go."
"I want to see Moapa, and find out about that reward!" said Ivan.
"No, he will not see you," said the first guard. "The Shaman's Rod has already been returned to him."
"But-" said Ivan.
The guards drew their swords again. "Step back!"
Isaac and friends did as they were told, and hurried away from the tent. After retreating to the entrance of the town, they picked up the barrels, and discussed what had just happened.
"We should have stormed the tent!" said Garet furiously. "We could have taken them, no problem. They weren't adepts."
"I wanted to Garet, but I'm glad we didn't," said Isaac. "We can't afford to make more enemies on this journey, we have enough already."
"Well, I suppose you're right," said Garet, disappointed. "But I agree with Ivan. I wanted to find out about that reward."
"Maybe we'll find out someday," said Mia. "But we'd better go, before we see the beacon's light from here."
The rest nodded in agreement, and walked through the town gates. Taking their barrels, they started to make their way back to the ship, which was docked nearby. But, they didn't have a good feeling about any of this. Not at all.
*************************
It's my worst, so don't quit on me yet. But, hopefully, my improvements will make it better. Remember, chapters 2, 5, and 6 are being "remodeled" slightly, so to speak. There are some points in there which aren't necessary, so I'm gonna make some adjustments on them. So, review for me!
I accept constructive criticism, but if so, I want reasons for the criticism. And Strata Alpha, Archer Cross, I wish to apologize for my rash behavior. I hope you can forgive me.
~SirGecko~