Changing of the Seasons
- A New Testaments: Secret of Mana Side Story -
Introduction: This is the story formerly known as Eliza the Witch: Seasons Change, a side story to New Testaments: Secret of Mana. We did extensive rewriting and revising for NTSoM, so it felt natural for me to do the same with this story too. Changing of the Seasons is set nine years after Secret of Mana, and around a year prior to NTSoM, and unfolds across four seasons over nine chapters.
Summary: Eliza is the teenage niece of the witch Elinee and a novice with magic due to various circumstances. Garr is the son of the leader of a pack of werewolves, always moving and with little understanding of the world outside of what he is allowed to know. When these two characters meet, it will be a clash of cultures, and they'll discover ominous rumblings that will lead into the conflict of New Testaments: Secret of Mana.
Disclaimer: Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu, Elinee, and all SoM characters are the property of Square Enix. Eliza, Garr and any original characters are my creation unless otherwise specified.
Chapter 1: The Arrival
The changing of the seasons brings the changing of life.
Tucked in a dank, thorny forest in the Lower Lands, an aged fortress stands, an ominous place referred to in strained whispers as the Witch's Castle. Elderly Elinee, the former witch in question, had long since renounced her powers and settled for a quiet and peaceful life within the halls of the castle. The nature of the Haunted Forest was seldom affected by the seasons, but Elinee's life was about to experience an abrupt change.
Elinee hummed to herself as she worked over an old stove. Behind her were three wooden chairs brought to life through old sorcery, stepping to her tune in tandem. The aroma of cooking meat and vegetables wafted through the halls of the castle. A knife casually slid its handle into her opened palm as she reached for it. She cut and diced a plethora of vegetables: carrots, potatoes, and even some shavings of the red, beet-like medical herb for good health. Rolling across her eardrums was the distant pounding of the castle doors. She let go of the knife (which guided itself back onto a rack) and strolled out of her kitchen and down the hall, the chairs galloping behind like loyal pets.
The rapping against the door continued until Elinee reached for the large, rusted handle and tugged at one of the double doors. She was greeted with a gust of wind and rain, whipping against the brown shawl draped over her old shoulders. A cloaked figure darted inside, sending the chairs into an agitated frenzy. The figure, wrapped in a soaking wet black cloak, revealed herself to the old woman struggling to close the door against the raging winds.
"Hi Auntie," the girl said as the black cloak fell on the floor in a clump over a bag. A pointed blue hat with a pink ribbon tied around it sat atop her long, blonde hair, one thick strand fell between her emerald eyes. A blue top and skirt were tied together by a pink cloth wrapped around her waist and knotted into a bow in the back. Raising up to her knees were blue boots; a short, transparent pink cape trailed behind her. Two blue armbands covered the length of her forearms.
Elinee's aged eyes squinted at the figure in the poor light. "Eliza...?" Her wrinkled face mouthed in disbelief. A flash of lightning spilled into the corridor and the downpour of rain increased. Eliza dove in for an embrace and hugged her aunt for the first time in years. The house furniture responded to the gesture by letting their guard down.
"Wha...what are you doing here?" Elinee nearly gasped once she parted with her niece.
"Didn't mom tell you...? You know...inheritance and stuff," Eliza explained casually.
Elinee narrowed her eyes. In her youth, her younger sister Eleanor had fled the confines of the castle for greener pastures, forfeiting any rights she had to their legacy and leaving it in the sole care of Elinee. Eleanor eventually came to regret her decision and partially blamed her sister for letting her make that choice in the first place. Now that Eliza was inching ever closer to her eighteenth birthday, the eligibility of the next generation was coming into play. Eleanor was most likely hoping that Elinee's old age would catch up with her sooner rather than later so that Eliza could be there when the castle fell into her lap. Being the manipulator that she was, Eleanor would most likely find a way to nonchalantly usurp the castle from her own daughter's possession if it ever came to it.
Eliza had taken it upon herself to look around the hallway and peer down a corridor or two. "I haven't been here in years," she murmured to herself. The furniture swayed with her every step, expecting her to lunge at them at any moment. "Mmmm, something smells good!" she exclaimed after sniffing the air. Picking up her old black cloak and bag and carelessly tossing them onto the nearest chair, she started in the direction of the kitchen, the clicking of her boots against the stone floor masking the growling emanating from the animated seats.
Elinee thoughtfully lifted the cloak from the chair and smiled. A little bit of youth might be just what this old castle needs, she thought.
"The Lower Lands are quite far away from your home," Elinee murmured. "What do you plan on doing while you're here?"
"I dunno!" Eliza replied, a bit bubbly. "I never thought about owning my own castle. Mom literally dropped this 'inheritance' business on me just a couple of weeks ago. But, you know, I had to get out of the Ice Country. When Mom suggested coming here again, why would I say no?" She raised a spoonful of soup and took a sip, having since settled down for dinner with Elinee.
They sat at a small square table on two of the few chairs that hadn't been brought to life. Elinee had a large dining hall with a table that stretched the length of the room and chandeliers that glistened above, but she never had the company to fill that drafty room. This was a more personal, preferable dining room.
"But honestly, I was thinking about practicing my magic," Eliza admitted.
Elinee gave her niece an incredulous look. "How exactly do you plan to do that? Mana's been gone since the Tree and the flying Fortress..."
Eliza set the spoon to the side and leaned forward, throwing a shady glance to three chairs sitting in the corner. If they had eyes, she would have sworn that they were glaring. She then muttered under her breath, "I managed to get a spark of magic working last week."
The old woman nearly toppled over. The chairs approached, fearing that something had happened to their master until Elinee straightened herself and whispered, "... How did you manage that?"
Eliza shrugged. "I don't really know... I was bored one day, tried a spell, and got a little spark as a result. It wasn't what I was trying to do, so..." her carefree attitude didn't seem to reflect her understanding of the magnitude of this knowledge, Elinee thought. But the girl had no reason to lie.
"Goodness! Do you think it's possible that Mana could be... returning?" Elinee asked, gasped, and then clasped her hands over her mouth in fear of the words she allowed to escape her own lips.
"Well, I'm not a history buff," Eliza remarked, taking another spoonful of rabite stew. "But... I have heard the saying that history repeats itself, and the world is never without Mana for too long."
"Well, that's true," Elinee agreed, rubbing her wrinkled hands together. "Various legends tell of cataclysmic events that resulted in the fluctuation of Mana, but not once did things stay in a state of crisis. And if Mana were to return, I wouldn't be able to sense it... since I lost my magical prowess years ago," the old woman said, her gaze becoming distant as she reflected on memories of the past.
"Speaking of magic, would you, uh... do you think you could... teach me a few things?" Eliza asked innocently.
"What? You mean a few spells, do you?"
"No, I mean... teach me all you know about magic!" Eliza batted her lashes as she gave her aunt her most charming smile.
Elinee was taken aback, as were the chairs. "You want to become my apprentice? Eliza, why?"
"Magic runs in our family. We're all adept with it." Eliza stared down into her soup and sighed. "Well, everyone else in the family. I know a few things, but I've never had any kind of formal training. And though my mother would never admit it, you are the best in the family."
"I... I don't quite know about this just yet, Eliza." Elinee's old face was riddled with worry. Eliza was right about her magical roots, but Elinee wasn't quite sure if such a "burden" needed to be passed on. After all, she had turned towards the dark side of magic before losing her powers completely.
The meal continued in silence shortly afterwards. Elinee had eventually stopped eating altogether and began to think long and hard about passing her knowledge down to her niece. Eliza backed off of the discussion so that any begging or nagging wouldn't ruin her chances, choosing to let her mind wander instead. The distant growl of thunder met her ears. It was familiar, and reminded her of the one thing she couldn't believe she had forgotten since she arrived.
"Where's Spikey?"
Elinee was caught off guard once again. A wave of dread washed over her body. It was something she had not thought about at all – how to break the news of Spikey's death to Eliza, who had always been close to the monstrous tiger. It happened so long ago, and for such a selfish and petty reason too. She wasn't sure which would hit harder: the fact that Spikey was dead, or why he died.
"Auntie? I haven't seen Spikey in years! I've missed him so much. I'm almost ashamed that I forgot to see him since I've been here!"
The blissful, longing voice of Eliza and her fond memories only made it that much worse.
"Eliza... Spikey... he's..." Elinee's voice cracked. She knew the truth would shatter this cheerful girl, but a lie would lead so much more pain down the line. Across the room, the chairs teetered on their front legs, watching the drama unfold. Elinee sighed and gave her answer as quickly and bluntly as possible. "Spikey is dead."
"That's not very funny," Eliza reacted, a miffed scowl tugging at her face.
"No, Eliza... I'm serious. It was about nine years ago when he died. It all happened so quickly, and I wasn't in my right state of mind at the time..."
"You're lying! I would have known if Spikey had died!"
"I was so worried about keeping my powers by sapping the energy out of innocent people. Thanatos wanted the boy, Dyluck, and then they stormed the castle and..."
Eliza rocketed from her seat, slamming her hands onto the table's surface, knocking the chair out from under her in the process. "Who!? Who stormed the castle!? Who killed Spikey!?"
"Please, Eliza, calm down..." Elinee pleaded. Eye contact was impossible to maintain. She complied, only because her mind was still reeling from the news to really do anything else.
"As I was saying..." Elinee's throat swelled but she continued on, "They stormed the castle and broke through all of my defenses. Instead of surrendering, I led them into Spikey's lair hoping he'd stop them. I had no idea who they were – who he was."
"...Who?"
"Randi..." Elinee turned her head closed her eyes. That day repeated in her mind for years, though she never dared recount it out loud before now. The memories of her life at that time were flooded with too much pain, too much disregard for the things that truly mattered.
"Who's Randi?" Eliza's voice quivered. Elinee's painful memories spread like an infection, finding another victim after all these years.
"Just a boy and his friends at the time, but even so... he is the Mana Knight."
Eliza's face contorted in horror as she gasped. "You... you sent Spikey to fight the MANA KNIGHT?" Her eyes misted; she pointed accusingly at the blurry figure before her. "You sent Spikey to his executioner," she whispered harshly.
It stung Elinee to her core to have the truth driven into her for the first time, by her niece no less. She had always known it; acknowledged it, to an extent. But it sounded and felt completely different to have someone else speak it. It hurt even more. She had loved the overgrown tiger herself. He was her own pet, after all. She physically flinched from the emotional arrow that punctured her.
"I was ignorant, desperate, and overconfident..." Her excuses fell on deaf ears. Eliza had fled the table, her face hidden behind the rim of the floppy hat atop her head, the boots strapped to her feet leading her out of the dining room only by memory.
The chairs had scattered in a desperate attempt to avoid Eliza, some even colliding into walls. She ignored them as she passed by and out of the room. They turned to Elinee in response, and slowly approached the old woman. Their wordless support seemed to help somewhat subside the anguish she felt.
The first day had kicked off with a glorious start.
Eliza cried that night.
Face buried in her pillow, she had toppled across the lumpy bed in an awkward heap. This bedroom had been the one she called her own when he visited regularly so many years ago. There was nothing particularly special about it beyond her memories, with just a bed, desk, clock, and an ample collection of dust and cobwebs. Her bag and cloak had been discarded onto one of the few normal chairs in the castle. She could only briefly wonder why her aunt never bothered to animate a broom or duster in times past to do some cleaning once in a while.
Elinee's words reverberated in her head as she replayed the scene in the dining room over and over again. The gap where her broken heart used to be widened a bit more with each replay. Occasionally, a childhood memory of Spikey weaseled its way through the corners of her mind. Looming over her was that massive beast, striped all over with spikes running down his spine. She bawled like a baby, hugging Elinee's legs tight. It wasn't until Spikey softly nudged his head under her arm, forcing her palm right above his face, that she understood the nature of the beast. They were inseparable from then on.
Eliza rubbed her eyes. "Why am I crying?" she whispered to herself.
She chuckled at her young innocence and naivety. It pulled her into the present. Spikey had died years ago, and for such a senseless reason too, but she could now understand the circumstances that led to his tragic slaying.
Contact with Elinee had been forbidden during her aunt's darker days. The oppressive atmosphere, shady alliances and malevolent creatures allowed to take residence in and around the castle had all been worrisome tales she heard secondhand. Spikey was undoubtedly affected by the rapidly changing environment. Eliza could completely empathize with the Mana Knight and his friends coming across Spikey for the first time. Locked in a small arena with a bloodthirsty version of that massive beast, he had no choice... there was a prophecy to fulfill and a world in need of saving.
"Spikey, you big, fluffy fool," Eliza murmured with a soft, sad chuckle. "You should have stayed in your lair..."
On the other side of her door, Elinee listened with the faint hint of a smile on her wrinkled face. With the tiger in the room dealt with, Eliza's stay could only improve from here. She could admit that the girl brought a level of spontaneity and energy that she was looking forward to. For just a moment, the weather outside had coincided with the mood of the castle. The remnants of the last summer storm began to dissolve, a soft rumble in the distance.