Hey guys, for those of you not new to this story, you probably remember what this chapter looked like. I decided to rewrite it because despite some saying that my story is good, it lacks a "hook" that'll reel readers in. We can't have a lame first chapter, can we? So I took the time to rewrite it and (hopefully) make it more interesting. Criticism to improve my writing is much appreciated!

Post TLA

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Chapter 1

Following the lighting of the Mars Beacon, and the shock that Vale is now buried, the eight heroes have been enjoying what they earned. They took a few weeks in Vault to rest from their tiring journey. Many of the Djinn took their leave now that their assistance was not needed, but some decided to stay with the adepts whom they considered good friends. It was decided by the mayors of both towns to expand the small town of Vault to accommodate the recently evicted people of Vale.

The ongoing period of rest was good for all of the young heroes, and they all enjoyed their time together. Eventually, Ivan and Sheba departed from Vault to return to Kalay and Lalivero respectively. They were accompanied by six of the Jupiter aligned Djinn, one of them whom everyone was more than glad to be rid of.

"Breeze is gone? Thank the gods!" yelled one overly enthusiastic Venus Djinni

"Finally!" exclaimed another, "I won't have to worry about replanting my garden… every… single… day…" Tears of happiness seemed to well up in her eyes. The Mercury Djinni next to her, named Dew, chuckled lightly.

"Wow, I never realized how much he irritated you guys," she commented. Breeze was hands down the most obnoxious and annoying of all the elementals. Some of his own kind even began to tire of him. He seemed to find pleasure in pestering others, and he was so accident prone, it was risky to keep anything valuable within a fifty foot radius of him lest it be destroyed by one of his absent minded goof ups. It was really quite sad.

"Well, that's because he doesn't annihilate anything of yours on an hourly basis," Flower responded.

"H-Hourly?"

With her Lighthouse-guarding duties completed, Mia was no longer required to stay in Imil, but she wanted to visit to see her pupils, Megan and Justin, and see the old couple she held so dear. However, not everyone was so keen on her going by herself.

"Mia, if you really have to go, I'll go with you!" a tall young man with spiky, red hair exclaimed. He was standing in the doorway of one of the rooms of Vault's inn. Over near the bed, a girl clad in warm-looking robes and long blue hair was packing a small bag. She turned to him with a smile.

"No, no, Garet, I'll just go by myself. I won't be gone no more than a couple weeks. Plus, Fizz, Dew, and Tonic will be with me." She picked her bag and large staff with a white, metal ankh at its tip and approached him. She looked up at him and saw the defiant pout on his face. "Come on, now! It's not that long."

"But…" She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look that said that she had made up her mind. "Okay… I'll see you off then," he gave in.

"Alright, everyone," Mia said, meeting the gaze of all her friends, "I'll return as soon as I can. Take care!" The five remaining adepts waved as she began her way eastward. The departure was rather carefree, and her goodbye was surely felt to be temporary, but several weeks had passed and she hadn't returned.

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"I really hope nothing happened to her on the way to Imil…" Jenna said worriedly. It was midday, and she was enjoying a walk with Isaac. "It's been almost five weeks."

"I'm sure she's fine. It does take quite a while to make a round trip. It also depends on how long she decides to stay." Isaac put a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. Since they've returned, they've spent much time together. They've always been close, but their journey has done nothing but make the desire to be with each other even stronger. As they walked, a brown orb of light floated out of the ground and took the tiny form of a similar colored creature with a back covered in brown quills.

"Hey, Isaac, whatchya doin'?" it asked with large blue eyes.

"Nothing really," he responded.

"Oh, hey, Flint," Jenna greeted when she noticed the Djinni. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing, nothing," he lied. He was always busy with something. Most of the time, he was with Isaac at some area he frequents outside of town. "Isaac, are we going to go do the thing today?" he asked.

Jenna became slightly annoyed. She had been persistent at getting Isaac to tell her what he was doing, but he wouldn't spill. Following him didn't work, because Flint, Granite, and Mold would work their magic to stop her in any way possible. She eventually gave up, trusting he wasn't doing anything shady.

"No, not today," the blonde responded. His stomach let out a small growl. "It's about lunch time. Want something at the inn, Jenna?" She crossed her arms.

"Well, I was planning on trying this new recipe when we got back. You still going to be hungry then?" she asked.

"Mm, maybe?" he said with a joking smile.

"Whatever, I'll make you eat it even if you're not," she said with a mischievous grin. Isaac just chuckled. Since they've been back, Jenna had gotten into cooking with her mother. They'd both cook interesting meals with various recipes Jenna's mother picked up in Prox.

They had just left the part of Vault that was filled with the many houses in construction. With the combined abilities of both towns, they were able to get half of Vale's population nice, cozy homes. Felix, Piers, and Garet spent their free time assisting with the construction, but Isaac had been more preoccupied with Jenna and whatever other endeavor he was dealing with outside of town.

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"Augh! Dammit!" Garet yelped in pain. He had just smashed his finger with his hammer. He was sitting on top of a half-finished roof.

"That's the third time today!" commented the blue-haired man working with him, "you need to concentrate or you'll lose your thumb."

"Yeah yeah, Piers…" He took off his left glove and examined the thrice-smashed thumb. It was swollen, red, and started to bleed from under the fingernail. "Shit, man. Freaking hurts." He rubbed it as it throbbed in pain. Following the sound of footsteps, a head of dark brown hair comes up the ladder.

"Garet maybe you should take a break. I'll take over for the time being." Garet nodded to him and climbed down a nearby ladder.

"Felix, did you notice he's been acting strange lately?" Piers asked as he hammered another nail into the wooden beam.

"Yeah, I wonder what's wrong." He replied, picking up the hammer Garet had used to tenderize his own finger. "He spaces out a lot more than usual and seems so distant, but I guess we shouldn't worry about it too much, this is Garet after all." The two men looked downwards towards Garet, who was heading home, then just shrugged and brought their attention back to work.

Garet walked down the streets and eventually came up to the house that was home to him and his large family. He went in, greeted his parents and grandparents, and walked up the stairs to his room while still rubbing his throbbing thumb. He opened the door and walked in to lie on his bed. Sitting on his desk across the room and reading a book was a Djinni of the fire element. Another one was in the middle of the floor juggling a ball on its head. He let out a frustrated sigh which alerted the attention of the Djinni who was reading. She noticed his thumb and hopped over to him.

"Smashed your finger again?" she asked. He nodded while staring at the ceiling. The elemental wrapped her flame-like tail around his hand and began to emit a warm aura. The pain melted away and the swelling disappeared completely.

"Thanks, Ember."

"No problem. Maybe you should try to keep your mind on your work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, you're not paying attention. I know you know how to hit a nail without mutilating your hand," she explained. She already had guessed why he was so distant. There was no word from Mia and it had been several more weeks than she had estimated. Garet was worried she'd never return.

"I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"That's unusual for you," the other Djinni with the ball joked. Garet sat up and gave it and angry look.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Forge?" he inquired.

"Hehe, nothing," Forge teased. Garet wasn't in the mood to strangle the fire elemental and just returned to staring at the sealing. Ember sighed at Garet's melancholy condition before another thought popped in her mind.

"Hmmm, I wonder if Sheba made it to Lalivero okay…"

Crash!

Forge had sent his toy across the room and knocked off almost everything stacked on Garet's desk.

"Whoops," Forge said, eyeing the mess he made. Garet gave him a look that told him he had better make himself scarce for a couple hours…

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Eh, I rewrote it and I think it's better than the original, but I think it needs improvement still.

Comments would be greatly appreciated.