My first submission to FF! I love this pairing, and there's just so little of it around. Duskshipping FTW! Please rate/review, any criticism or praise is fine by me. ;3


Cinders

Romance/Tragedy. Duskshipping, Some Proxshipping.

Prologue

The sunrise over Vale had always been a sight Felix enjoyed. The myriad shades of Orange, Red and Yellow peeked above the mountaintops and flooded the small town with light. But now, that was one of the only things about the small mountain town that Felix found enjoyable.

A year had passed since the firing of the final Lighthouse, and because of that the town of Vale had been utterly destroyed. At the time it was a tragic occurrence, but by a stroke of luck the villagers had been warned away from the town and were spared. Since then, Vale had slowly been reborn. The newly constructed town was coined New Vale, and the town returned to its usual slow and carefree existence, despite the release of Alchemy.

The heroes that once freed the world from its imminent demise all returned to their normal lives. Isaac, Jenna, Garet and Felix all returned to their homes in New Vale, however, they were not all greeted with the warmth they had expected. Isaac and Garet, who were originally sent out of Vale to return the Elemental Stars, were generally accepted despite their failure to return the relics. Garet's grandfather was the Mayor, after all, and Isaac was his best childhood friend. There was no ill will towards Jenna either, as she was held captive against her will, and had nothing to do with lighting the beacons. Felix, on the other hand, was held responsible for the release of Alchemy upon the world.


Cinders

Part 1

Chapter One - Home

"What are we going to do about him?"

"That is yet to be decided. He is responsible for anything that is brought upon this world by the release of Alchemy."

"But Alchemy had to be released! If it wasn't, Prox would have been destroyed!"

"The people of Prox brought it upon themselves. They have committed a terrible Sin."

"That's exactly what the Wise One said… Right before it sicked a three headed dragon on us! It even used his parents… And Isaacs dad!"

"The Wise One also warned us away from Vale before it was destroyed. We must trust in its judgment or be doomed."

"Yeah… But do we really have to punish him?"

"What Felix has done is blasphemy. There must be repercussions."

At that, Felix was sick of hearing the elders banter. "At least Garet's sticking up for me, if you could call it that." he thought.

"Maybe once he's mayor… Wait, what am I saying? Garet? Mayor of Vale?"

Felix laughed at the thought, a bit too enthusiastically, perhaps. The elders inside Garet's house fell silent at the sudden interruption outside their door.

"Damn it, I never was very good as eavesdropping."

Felix dashed for the back of the house as the Mayor burst through the door with a surprising force for his age. "Who's there? If that's you Aaron, you are in SO much trouble when the meet is over!"

"Whew…" Felix panted, out of breath. "Garet's grandfather is faster than he looks…"

Felix returned home, thankful that the Elders had not caught him eavesdropping. He did feel a little guilty that Aaron may take the blame, though. The Elders were always a bit stingy when it came to village politics.

As he crossed the bridge at the center of town, over the river where he almost lost his life, he began to smell his sister's cooking drifting downstream. The water smelled of cinnamon and mountain pine, spices found outside the village. Felix had always loved his sister's cooking; Mars Adepts seemed to have a tendency to become good cooks.

The smells also reminded him of Menardi's cooking. They used similar spices in Prox, as a similar pine grew in the nearby mountains west of the small winter town.

Felix let out a sigh. He never spoke of Prox, it was a touchy subject among the townsfolk, but the town was constantly on his mind. He didn't feel comfortable discussing it with Jenna or the others, but it had been nagging at the back of his mind for the past several days.

In truth, it wasn't the village itself that was on his mind. A certain Proxian woman had tormented his dreams ever since the events that had torn them apart. It didn't take much to remind him of her, nor did it take much to make him miss his former home in the north.

"Felix!"

Jenna called him from the door to their home, the smells from the kitchen becoming even stronger now that the door was ajar.

"Jenna, I can smell your cooking a mile away. What's that tantalizing aroma?" Felix said in a mocking tone. He always enjoyed picking on his younger sister, although her temper often didn't put up with it.

"It's curry, and if you don't eat it, I'll be cooking you next." Same old Jenna.

His sister's temper never bothered him; in fact, it was comforting that Jenna was strong enough to take care of herself. Felix was used to fiery tempers, and the strength of those behind them.

Felix reclined against the bed in his upstairs bedroom, the aroma of familiar spice drifting through the cracks in the floorboards. Thoughts of his friends who had left raced through his mind - Piers, Sheba, even Ivan, Mia and the others… And those who wouldn't be coming back…

Saturos, Menardi, Agatio and Karst were often on Felix's mind. Although his friends considered them enemies, Felix was the only one who had seen another side to them. He had called them friends and mentors, and deeply mourned their loss. Of all four, he mourned Karst the deepest.

The Proxian girl had captivated him since he had met her in her small town. Their friendship had flourished, but Felix had had other intentions.

"Just forget about her, it never would have worked." Felix sighed.

"She probably hated you… Of course she didn't want you. She's Proxian, I'm Valian… It just doesn't happen."

"…Just forget."


Vale – Four years ago.


It had been an almost ordinary day. There was word that a group of travelers had visited the town to speak with the village council, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Vale often had a multitude of pilgrims and scholars in search of the famous "Sol Sanctum" seeking to gain entry.

Felix and his family had just set down for their evening meal, the usual curry that his mother made. It was always too hot and burned Felix's mouth and throat, but he ate it anyway.

That night the most unusual storm had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Felix had been told to stay inside, but Vale almost never had weather so fierce. His curiosity got the better of him.

"I'll just slip outside and see, then I'll be back before anyone notices a thing." He thought, though that would be far from the truth.

As he made his way outside, Felix was in awe of the sheer power that Weyard had unleashed upon the little mountain town. Surely, this was no ordinary storm.

As he stepped further onto the small wooden deck overlooking the river, he could see a group of the village healers heading up towards the Sanctum.

"I wonder what's going on… It must be serious if they're sending all those Adepts up there – "

Felix's thoughts were cut short as a bolt of raw energy emerged from the clouds above the village and struck the river under him.

In surprise, Felix lost his footing on the slippery wooden floor.

"Wh- Whoa!" Felix yelled as he tried in vain to regain his balance.

He fell to the deck and slipped into the raging torrent below, striking a rock on the river bottom as he entered the cold water.

"FELIX!"

He heard Jenna scream as he reemerged from the water, the cold rain again pounding his face. He winced as he saw lightning arc across the sky – He could be killed at any moment if one of those bolts struck the water again.

"Hurry! Someone get help!"

His blurred vision could make out Jenna and his parents standing on the docks outside his home – They couldn't have been more than ten meters away. Felix held on for his life on a wooden stake emerging from the water, a throbbing pain in his right arm told him he must have broken it in the fall.

He could just barely make out the voices of his parents over the raging storm, calling out for help.

If only someone could reach him, perhaps with Psynergy –

Then, everything froze.

He heard a crash, a deafening roar –

He heard his sister scream –

Then everything went black.


And that's the end of Chapter One! Short chapter is short, but Chapter Two is soon to follow, just once I finish editing it. Reviews Plox!