It had been a miracle, they said, when Mia was born. It'd been centuries since two healers had been alive in Imil at the same time. Alex was splendid, but as Mia grew, her tenderness was evident even before her miraculous powers had surfaced. They were of a similar nature, Alex and Mia; both kind, both caring, and both of them with such bright futures.

I remember those early days… before it all spun downward, and I lusted for the power of the Golden Sun. I believe that started on a day when Mia was only five. I don't recall how old I was myself. Mia hadn't yet learned the healing Psynergy of Ply, but I was doing the village just fine. Nobody was really getting sick, anyway.

"Alex! Alex! Look, look!" Mia had found an odd little toy, and was presenting it to me with a large smile on her face.

With a chuckle, I responded, "very nice Mia, where did you find it? Did gramps give it to you?" That old man was always throwing new things at Mia. I didn't mind; he'd done the same to me when I was her age.

"Yeah! He says that if you pull the string, it'll do something amazing, wanna see Alex?" She was so energetic, but most kids were at her age. I had business to attend to; the lady who tended the local general store was coming down with a fever.

"Sorry Mia, I'm busy again, I must be on my way. Show me some time, alright?" And before she had a chance to convince me to stay, I ran off.

I knew I'd have to apologize to Mia eventually, but I felt as if something important would happen. Something life-changing. I walked into the store(the lady lived in the same place, which was actually a little shut-in inside a wall), and immediately began asking for specifics. When did it first happen, what is she like now, how has it developed, was she behaving weird the day before? There was a child there, one of the children always hung around the general store hoping for snacks.

When I'd heard the story, I felt a single Ply would be fine to help her get past it. "Don't worry, kid, it's just a cold, I'll handle it." I stood still for a moment, and then I extended my will outward, and the vision of a fairy appeared before my eyes, sprinkling some sort of dust over the patient. It's duty done, the creature nodded it's head to me, and flew off. It'd always interested me that I was the only one who could see the fairy. Maybe Mia would be able too, I'd thought, when she gained her healers' powers.

As I walked out the door, the lady's breathing already began to soften, and the child thanked me. It had, sometimes, seemed that the children were the only ones who never caught the Imil cold, other than healers like me, of course. I smiled, it was a content smile of a job well done, if I remember correctly, and was on my way. I was going to do my daily check on the lighthouse. Legend stated that terrible things would occur if Mercury's beacon was lit. But I had climbed to the aerie before, and there seemed no way to light the lighthouse's fire.

I walked out of the village, half wondering why Mia didn't interrupt me as I was exiting town. I approached the lighthouse after a few hours' walking, took note that the peculiar barrier(which could be opened only with the use of Ply, I figured out) was still up, which meant that there was no people inside the lighthouse. Satisfied, I'd turned around.

But I felt a pull. I turned back, and stared at the empty pool. When Mercury is lit, the Water of Hermes would flow, so it was said, and all disease would be wiped out. When I stopped to think about it, I called upon the power of Ply, still staring at the pool. When I saw the fairy appear, I took particular note of the 'dust' it spread. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before! The dust was water!

"Perhaps it is the Water of Hermes the fairy sprinkles. No… From the legends, the Water of Hermes is more potent than Ply. Then… is there a more effective version of Ply?" I'd been absorbed in my outward thinking, and I hadn't noticed that the fairy didn't fly off at first. When I did notice, I was confused. The fairy always spread its water, and then flew away. Why would the creature of Ply remain? "Hello," I said, realizing I probably sounded stupid or something.

"ALEX!" A sudden voice jerked me out of my remembering. "We have to keep moving, or Felix and Sheba are going to die of the heat in this desert."

I stood up, "Yes, and we don't want that, do we?" I looked around, and then, in my usual condescending tone, "And where might they have vanished to, Saturos?"

"I told Menardi to lead them on ahead. That was a short while ago, so let's be going." With that, Saturos began walking. I was sure he expected me to follow him, and that irked me a little, however I had little choice. "So," he surprised me by saying, "what were you thinking about?"

Just like Saturos, to ask a question and immediately expect me to respond obediently. Understandable though it was, Saturos was of the Proxian military after all, I was bothered that he treated me like an underling. "Saturos, my friend, my thoughts are of little importance, so long as the beacons are lit."

"I suppose," Saturos responded, "however. Menardi is probably nearing the Suhalla Range and Idejima by now. Use Warp, Alex." It was a command, pure and simple, but I was happy to oblige. After all, I needed to know as much as possible about our three tag-alongs.