Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Chase or any of its characters mentioned in this story. But I do own the plot and OCs. And I am admitting that some ideas here are from my friend who helped me in making this.
~Reaching Out For the Stars~
Act 1: Our Dark Past
Prologue:
A long time ago lived two kingdoms, which lived in peace throughout the whole continent. They lived like that for centuries until now…
One of the kingdoms – The Moon Kingdom – wanted more power, but in order to achieve that goal, the king of the Moon Kingdom – King Theon Erudon – decided to take over the neighboring kingdom – The Kingdom of Stars –
Hearing this, the queen of the Moon Kingdom – Queen Luna Selene Erudon – tried in vain to stop her husband but failed, miserably. She died, trying to protect the Kingdom of Stars
A week later, the Kingdom of Stars heard the news of Queen Luna's death and Theon's plan to take over their entire kingdom. Unsure of the truth, the queen of the stars – Queen Yuna Hiroka Sieghart – sent trackers to find out what the real truth is
While the trackers were on their journey to the neighboring kingdom, the prince of the Moon Kingdom – Prince Ronan Erudon – traveled around the town to the Castle of Stars. Once there, he told the queen news about his father wanting to take over the Kingdom of Stars and also the news of his mother's death
After hearing that, they were sure that the Moon Kingdom will strike at any time, so, they made a plan. The queen kept Ronan's real identity a secret, to the people of her kingdom, along with her daughter – Princess Elesis Hikaru Sieghart – for his protection. Only Sir Helios Sieghart, Queen Yuna's most faithful guard and her older brother, knew. Their plan was to evacuate the whole kingdom once the trackers give the signal. After a few weeks, no signal came. The queen, worried of what happened to the trackers, sent another set of trackers to continue the mission and to find the missing ones…
X-0-X-0-X
Present time…
(Castle of the Stars)
~[Throne Room]~
"Momma! Momma! Can I play with Ronan outside?" asked a 10-year-old girl with red hair and eyes
"Sure Elesis. Just don't forget to come home before dusk" her mother replied
A nod, then she left the throne room
Once Elesis was outside, a guard spoke…
"When will we evacuate the people including the princess and you, your highness?"
"That's a good question Sieghart… let's wait for the signal… If the trackers give the signal, we'll start evacuating." the Queen said, "For now, just ready the troops" she continued
"As you wish, my queen" the guard, Sieghart, said
After a few minutes, an explosion occurred, surprising both the Queen and Sieghart…
"Where did that explosion come from?" the queen asked, hysterically
"I can see smoke coming from the grand library in the town square" Sieghart answered, looking out the window
"They did a surprise attack, my queen…" a soldier said, entering the throne room
"Isn't that a surprise?" Sieghart said, sarcastically
"And the reports say that they killed our trackers" continued the soldier, annoyed
"…" That silenced both the queen and Sieghart
"A change of plan troops… Evacuate the townspeople NOW! As for you Sieghart, find Elesis and Ronan…"
"As you wish, my queen" both of them chorused
With that being said, they quickly exited the throne room to do their tasks…
X-0-X-0-X
~[The Castle's Garden]~
"Hey, Ronan! Catch!" Elesis said, throwing the ball
"Next time… aim higher… you throw like a girl" A boy around her age with blue hair and eyes said, teasingly, as he caught the ball in mid-air
"Hmph! That's because I am a girl! Jerk!"
"Aw c'mon Elly! You know I'm only kidding!" said the boy, Ronan
Elesis just looked away and stubbornly crossed her arms then made another "Hmph" childishly
'Stubborn and childish as always… but heck, that's what I like about her… not to mention she's cute when she does that' Ronan thought
Then suddenly…
"Princess Elesis! Ronan! There you are!" a voice shouted from behind them
"Uncle Sieg? What are you doing here?" Elesis asked
"Your mother wants to speak to you"
"Oh… then let's go!"
X-0-X-0-X
~[Throne Room]~
"Momma, you want to talk to me?"
"Yes, my dear"
"What did you want to talk about, momma?"
"You, Ronan and Sieghart are going someplace far away from here…"
Elesis gave a confused face then asked "Why?"
BOOM!
Another explosion was heard
"What was that momma?"
"That's just the fireworks, dear. Now, can you promise me something?"
A nod
"Promise me that when you leave, don't turn back… and… take this with you…" she handed Elesis a necklace.
It was a star-shaped ruby encrusted on ice that can never melt. Then, she turned to Ronan. Said boy gave a confused look. The queen, noticing this, said…
"You have been like a son to me… and for that… I give you this" she too, handed Ronan a necklace
It was similar to Elesis' necklace but instead of a star-shaped ruby, it was a crescent-shaped sapphire, meaning 'second son'.
"I promise… but… what are these for?" Elesis said, pointing at her and Ronan's necklace
"You'll know when the time comes…"
"… Before I leave momma… can you tell me what these markings on our arms mean?" She gestured her mother to look at her and Ronan's arms
"… Those are the marks of our clans… yours, Elesis, is the mark of the Sieghart clan while yours, Ronan, is the mark of-"
"Don't worry aunt Yuna, I already know what the marks mean" Ronan said, cutting-off the queen's sentence
BOOM!
"Sieghart, take the children and go!"
"But how about you Milady?"
"I can take care of myself… Now GO!"
He was hesitant at first, but seeing as the queen was serious; he nodded then left with Elesis and Ronan…
"Goodbye… my precious Elesis… and please… take care of them Sylph…"
A strong gust of wind passed by…
"Yes… I will… along with Salamander and Undine… I promise you that…" Sylph said
"Thank you…"
BOOM!
"We will not put your sacrifice in vain…"
X-0-X-0-X
~[Outside the castle]~
The trio heard the explosion coming from the throne room. They all gasped as they saw their home being reduced to ashes…
"She sacrificed herself…" Sieghart murmured, looking at the castle they once called 'home'
"MOMMA! MOMMA!" Elesis cried as she saw the burning building that was once the throne room
"C'mon Elesis… you promised your mom that you'll never turn back once we leave… are you gonna break that promise…?" Ronan said, thus silencing Elesis
A strong gust of wind passed by…
"Don't worry Elesis… you will see her again someday… but for now, just wait and do what she asked you… to go someplace far away from here…"
"Huh? Did you hear that?"
"What're you talking about, Ronan?"
"I just thought I heard something"
As the two boys kept talking, Elesis took one last look at the castle and said "Momma… Goodbye…" as tears flowed down her cheeks, non-stop, then she turned around and walked away, heading for the forest. Soon, the two followed.
"Oh how I wish to stop the pain she is feeling now…"
X-0-X-0-X
~[Other side of the forest]~
Once they got to the other side of the forest, they saw the destruction of the kingdoms…
"The Moon Kingdom…" Ronan said
"Along with the Kingdom of Stars…" Elesis interjected
"And other side of the border… completely destroyed…" Ronan continued
"I'm sorry if your kingdom was caught in the chaos…" Sieghart said, facing Ronan
"It's okay… don't worry about me…"
"Huh? What do you mean 'your kingdom'? Ronan's part of our kingdom you know" Elesis said, with a hint of doubt in her voice
"Well…" Sieghart tried to explain but was cut-off by Ronan,
"I'm the Moon Kingdom's prince… The mark on my arm is the mark of the Erudon clan…"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid that if you knew I was a prince, you'll treat me like the other princes…"
"Why'd you think of that?"
"I dunno…"
Silence
They continued walking
After a few minutes of walking in silence, Ronan was the one who broke it…
"Listen, Elesis…"
"Hmm?" said girl responded, stopping to face him
"I'm sorry…"
"About what?"
"About your mom…"
"It's okay"
"I mean… It's because of my dad… that's why your mom died…"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The explosions… my dad was the one who caused those… he was the one behind all of this chaos because he wanted to take over your kingdom… and the reason your mom died…"
Elesis became quiet, and then she started walking
"Elesis… I'm sorry…"
No response
"I'm sorry… but don't think that you're the only one who lost a family member or a loved one…"
"Just shut up Ronan! And what is this about 'that you're not the only one who lost a family member and a loved one'?"
"Don't you think that many people died there?" he pointed a finger behind him, "And… my mom… she died trying to stop dad to protect you, your mother and your kingdom…"
"…"
"Oi! Can you two hurry up?" Sieghart shouted, impatiently. He was ahead of them by 10 meters
"We'll be there in a minute!" Elesis shouted back
"Just hurry and catch up!"
"Yeah, yeah…"
With that being said, she turned to Ronan and said…
"Listen, Ronan… I'm sorry… and I forgive you…"
"I forgive you too… and I'm really sorry… If I tried to help my mom stop dad, this wouldn't have happened" Ronan apologized
"Don't blame yourself… it already happened…"
"If you say so…"
"Now that that's over… let's go! Uncle Sieg is getting impatient…"
"Yeah…"
After that, they started running off in the direction Sieghart went…
While they were running, the spirits were watching them…
"Be careful young one…" One of the spirits said
"Don't worry about them Undine, they can take care of themselves, especially the girl" Another spirit said
"Don't be too sure Salamander, they're still in danger…" Sylph said
"How can you say that, Sylph?" The second spirit, Salamander, said
"Theon is hunting them down…"
"Again, I ask, how can you say that?"
"I just went to the Star kingdom's ruins… I overheard him saying that he'll hunt them down until every citizen of that kingdom dies… including his own son…"
"But how would he know if there are still survivors?"
"Theon has a special spell that allows him to locate the Star kingdom's people"
"Still, I have one question in my mind. Why go through all that trouble just for power? I mean he already killed the Star kingdom's queen and their people. And to think he'll actually kill his own son just for that power"
"… I don't know if this is correct but I think I have the answer for that…"
"Well? I'm waiting"
"I think he's going after THAT prophecy"
"How sure are you?"
"As I've said before, I don't know if that is true… I just have a strange feeling that that's what he's after… seeing as he'll kill both the heirs to the throne…"
"Is there such possibilities?" One of the spirits, Undine, said
"I don't know…"
"Well… what was the prophecy again?"
"Ugh! Don't tell me you forgot Salamander!"
"Uhh… Maybe?"
A sigh.
"I forgot what prophecy it is, okay? I know so many prophecies that I even forget some!"
"Oh… Well then… Do you remember the only prophecy written in the Sacred Tongue?"
"No…"
"Then… How about the prophecy written in chapter 86 verse 25 in the Holy Scribe?"
"A little… Can you tell it to me already?"
"Ugh! Fine! You win…
The ancient text written in the Sacred Tongue and Holy Scribe tells us about the time when the archaic people lived in peace and harmony. They were being ruled by the creators, the one they call Gods and Goddesses who can live an eternity without aging. They were also called Immortals that time. But every one dies right? Even Immortals. The Oracles were given tasks. Those tasks were passed down generation after generation because they cared so much about their Gods. Their task was to revive/reincarnate/ reborn the Gods into different Races to increase their wisdom and knowledge. But then one accident occurred. One of the Gods – The Fallen One – betrayed the others by killing them. Luckily two of the Gods – Selene, the Moon Goddess and Helios, the Sun God – got away…"
"Hey! Isn't Selene the second name of Ronan's mom?"
"Yes, that is indeed correct Salamander but Queen Luna isn't the God. She was only named after her because they almost look the same and Selene is Luna's great great great great great great great grandmother. And this is where the prophecy starts…
The prophecy started not too long ago. Actually, it was the time both Elesis and Ronan were born. The leaders of the Silver Table got together and made the ceremony for the ritual. The leaders were: Athena of the Violet Mages, Apollo from the Council of Elders, Luther of the Silver Knights, Asclepius from the Oracle's guild, Diana of the Elven Corpse, Zephyra of the Assassin's guild, Gaea from the Forest of Trinity, and Ares the last Immortal. The ceremony was about the last of the Gods. They were suspecting that Elesis and Ronan are the reborned versions of Selene and Helios. Their hunches were indeed correct. They performed a ritual, a barrier to be more précised, to make sure their God's essences were sealed so that The Forgotten One can't sense them. At the age of 3, the barrier broke, releasing all the God-like power and the essences that were sealed. The Forgotten One, sensing the God's essence and power, caused chaos and destruction to the kingdoms. Clarence, the real father of Ronan, along with Sol, Elesis' father, performed a forbidden spell that sealed the Forgotten One that drained away all their life-force. They died after doing that spell. Both their children, traumatized by the events that occurred, were 'brainwashed' as some say it, so they can live on with their normal lives. The remaining leaders performed another barrier spell, much stronger than before, to seal the power that they had witnessed so it won't fall into the wrong hands. After that incident, Luna met Theon. Little did she know that Theon was The Fallen One's son…
The prophecy tells that 'once the time comes, the world will end but when that time comes, we will be here to save it from certain destruction and bring back the balance that was lost. We will bring back the peace and harmony we once had. Nothing can ever stop us until we reach that goal of ours. Even if we die, we will still be reborned.'
Another passage tells that 'once that we have been reborned 7 times, the world will end but do not fear, we will not let all of those innocent lives die. As I've said, nothing can ever stop us from reaching our goal. We are the most powerful beings that had ever lived. We are not going to let that power get into the wrong hands. There is only one place that can keep that power safe. It is called Dreamertia, the land of the gods. Only the chosen ones along with our reincarnated forms can enter this Holy place and live there in peace and harmony.'
That was only half of the prophecy. The rest of it is 'once the world needs us the most that is where we'll release our full potential. We will stop at nothing to seal the darkness that once ruled over this world. We will never make that same mistake and sacrifice all those innocent lives. Even if the cost is our very own.'
This is the last part of the text 'once we have been reborned the seventh time, we cannot be reborned again but we will live for eternity in Dreamertia."
"Does the text tell anything about 'when will all of those happen'?"
"I think so… wait just a minute…"
After a minute…
"I found it!" Sylph exclaimed, holding an ancient book up high
"So…?" Salamander said
"It says…
The time of the great awakening… It is said that the God's essence and power will be awakened and will be at its full potential after living fifteen years or so"
"15 years huh? Then why hunt them now when they still have 5 years to go before their true identities awaken"
"Yeah… that was the question I had in mind too… But there's something else… This is from the archaic books we found back at the temple…
The time of the great awakening… It is said that once a full moon arises… The chosen ones, with the God's essence and power, will be awakened. Once in the wrong hands, it will destroy everything in its path. Chaos and destruction will once again rule the world"
"Hmmm… full moon…"
"It isn't any normal moon though…"
"Huh?"
"The passage tells that once that time comes, two moons will appear as a sign that the chosen ones are awakened…"
"… I wonder why two moons…"
"And also that those moons represent the kind of power each of the chosen one has… remember the last two chosen ones? The moons were colored green and yellow, which means 'earth' and 'wind'"
"Oh yeah… and the one before that… The moons were colored pink and gold, which means 'love' and 'lightning' right?"
"Yes… and finally, the last two… the first ones we were destined to protect… but sadly, we didn't accomplish our mission…"
"Yeah… they were killed before they got to know their full identities… luckily, they were still reborned, but if they die again, they can't be brought back anymore"
"The moons were colored violet and white, which means 'shadow' and 'light' right?"
"So… what do you think it is now?"
"I'm thinking of fire and ice. If not ice, water"
"Why those?"
"Because the last elements were: earth, wind, love, lightning, shadow and light. The only ones left are fire and ice or maybe water, so that maybe their elements"
"You do have a point there, Sylph"
"But I still wonder… Why hunt Elesis and Ronan when the other chosen ones are still alive and at their full potential?"
"That's because fire and ice are very unique elements when it's combined, unlike when you combine ice with wind, it makes a blizzard. Ice and earth makes glaciers. Nor when combining fire and wind to make firestorm, fire and earth for an inferno effect. Combining fire, earth and wind for meteor. Fire and ice, when combined or fused together, is like a symphony, beautiful, yes, but destructive it can be. Symphony magic is the strongest form of combining/fusing magic, much stronger than Enchanting magic or any other."
"So… if the redhead and the boy falls into the wrong hands,"
"Chaos and destruction will once again rule the world… Just like what the prophecy said…"
"…"
SILENCE
"I sense them…" Undine said, breaking the silence
"Where are they coming from?" Sylph asked
"They're coming from the forest entrance near the castle's gates…"
"Should we delay them?"
"Well of course"
"Then we'll delay them while you Undine, follow the kids and make sure they get to the shore safely" Salamander said
"Why me?"
"You're the spirit of Water, so, you can guide them through the ocean…"
"And don't worry, they can't see us… they can only feel our elements… Now go!" Sylph added
"I understand… Be careful…"
And with that, Undine left
A/N: Sorry if the prologue is bad. As I've said, this is my first fic. I promise to make chapter 1 better. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed. R&R please