Spoilers abound! Major ones, too. If you haven't played Dark Dawn, do not read this. (Unless, of course, you could care less about spoilers.)
The Adept of Ayuthay
When he had been rendered motionless by the powers of the Wise One and left at the mercy of the elements—quite literally, since the unleash of the four elements was what was causing the earth to change—Alex had been afraid. He had never been more afraid in his life. He thought he was going to die.
He was surprised when he didn't. He came out miraculously unscathed—a few bruises here and there, nothing major. Which was good. He wasn't ready to die. He still had plans for the world. Not dying was crucial to them. He wanted to see his work finished to the end. One reason he'd wished for immortality... Pity if the Wise One was correct and he wasn't truly immortal. Near limitless life would have to suffice, then.
Alex dusted himself off and made haste to get away from Mt. Aleph on the off chance that one of his old acquaintances decided to come back.
"Good luck to them." He scoffed as he looked back over the once-prosperous wasteland. No one could possibly hope to rebuild there. To his own chagrin, he actually felt pity. Vale had been a nice enough town, it was pitiable that it had been caught in the storm. At least it had been vacant.
Alex shook his head. Pity was worthless to him. He had told Felix as much at Jupiter Lighthouse—Alex was not one to hold onto that which he did not need. Even if he wanted to.
With that, Alex donned a mask and set out into the shadows.
He traveled for some time, hearing constantly the tales of the great Warriors of Vale. Unsurprisingly, he learned that Felix had set out from his former homeland of Vale with the girl from Lalivero, Sheba. It was so like him. Alex knew Felix well enough to know he would not be able to stay in one place long, and Sheba was still searching for her past. Leave it to them to go together.
He heard of the quest the heroes went on the gain a feather from the great Mountain Roc, to build a machine that would give them access to Sol Sanctum again. Isaac, naturally, longed to return to that place where it all began. Not that there was anything there anymore.
That was before the first Mourning Moon event happened. Alex was in the Atteka region when that disaster occurred, and even from there could feel the devastation. Even non-Adepts felt miserable during that time, but it was much stronger for the Adepts. The giant vortex pulled Psynergy from whatever was around it, and only died when it had drawn in tremendous amounts of raw energy. Alex knew Alchemy was to blame, but he couldn't allow his precious life's work to be so wasted. The energy of Alchemy was not meant to be sucked into Psynergy Vortexes. No. It was meant to further the world. Something had to be done to stop this.
So Alex did research. He studied... and he found an answer, albeit one that would be difficult to realize fully for some time. Had unleashing Alchemy been any different in the beginning? No.
What he found was evidence that a tower existed that could temper Alchemy if it were activated. Naturally, there were multiple warnings about that, claiming destruction and death would come in its wake. This so called "Grave Eclipse" could destroy the world if left unchecked. However, there also existed accounts of how to stop the eclipse, and there lay the hope that his quest would not be in vain. The tower could be activated, and it could be stopped.
The first keys, however, were not the tower itself, but the machines tied to it. Two were reported to be located in the south, the third in the north. Alex traveled to the south to see these machines for himself. He discovered one lay in the mountain town of Passaj, but with one look at that town he knew it would be pointless to offer them any help. The place ran on fire, the natural opposite of water, and the people were doing well enough there thanks to their zol mines. No, they didn't need help. Not yet. Leave it to someone else.
Then Alex came to Ayuthay. The lands around this ancient town were barren and dry, though it was obvious that water had been abundant in the past. Upon entering the town, he immediately knew it was in dire straights. It would wither away before long, though the Alchemy that could restore it flowed freely in the air again.
Alex asked for an audience with the king, and was granted one. They were truly desperate here, ready for any kind of help at all.
"Who are you, and what is it that brings you here?" The king asked Alex when he came into the throne room.
Alex bowed slightly—not that he thought the king was higher than him, of course, but he needed to earn the king's respect. "Who I am is of no importance to you, your majesty. What brings me here are the tales of your Alchemy Machine."
"The Alchemy Well?" The king seemed truly shocked. "Why would you care about a broken old machine?"
"Because I think I can get it working." Alex said. "If you would show it to me, that is."
The king's servants shot each other a glance. "King Paithos?" One asked.
"Tell my sister to show it to him. If he speaks truthfully..."
"Of course." She bowed and left quickly.
"Veriti, my sister, is the one who was bidden with the task of looking after the Alchemy Well." Paithos explained. "She knows the most about it, but no one here can make it work. If anyone can tell you what you need to know to fix it, it is her."
"Princess Veriti, my lord." The servant girl said, returning. A pretty young woman followed her. Her long hair was like liquid silver falling down her back in a white waterfall. Her bright blue eyes fixed on Alex the moment she came into the room. It was only natural, he knew. Travelers were probably not common here, after all.
Still... There was something disturbing in her gaze. Alex turned away suddenly, afraid of what he saw in her eyes, afraid to look at her any longer... Afraid because he wanted to let his gaze linger.
"Brother, you summoned me?" Her voice, in contrast to her appearance, was nothing special. He'd been expecting something more etherial, the voice of an angel. It sent a shiver through him, the unexpected normality of her voice.
She was human, after all.
"This man wants to see the Alchemy Well. He claims he might be able to make it work. Show him to it."
"Of course." Alex turned to her again, even as she turned to go. She glanced back to see if he would follow, and he was glad for the mask he was wearing even then. If not for it, she might have seen something in his eyes that was not supposed to be there. Weakness.
When they came to the Well, Veriti showed Alex the broken sections.
"See? That part needs to go there... But no matter how many men try to move it, they simply can't. It won't budge."
Alex smirked beneath his mask, and raised a hand. "We'll see about that." He used a quick burst of Psynergy—easy enough, he had never been a weak Adept and was so much stronger now. The stone slid easily across the floor and into place.
When he turned back to Verity, he started. The look in her eyes was so admiring, so full of awe... He felt lost in her eyes. Snap out of it, Alex. He told himself. You can't afford weakness.
"I knew you could do it, the moment I saw you." Veriti said. "You really will get it working, won't you?"
Alex found himself at a loss for words.
Veriti turned to the machine again. "I think something needs to be done here, too. But I don't know what..." There was a bowl-like part on the raised section of the platform. Alex looked at it for a moment, then turned back to Veriti. She was waiting patiently. Expectantly.
He raised his hand again, and let out a simple Douse. The bowl filled, and the chamber glowed. Lines that transported the energy everywhere glowed, too, and the water started to fill the chamber. A portion of the wall slid away, revealing a spot on the wall where some artifact belonged.
"The Luna Mask." Veriti said. "It must be the final key."
"Where is the Luna Mask?" Alex asked. "Do you know?"
"Yes." Veriti said, quietly. "I do."
Paithos came into the Alchemy Well then. He looked pleased. "So, you've done something, I see. Is it working?"
"Not yet." Veriti said. "Not completely. It still needs the final piece." She pointed to where the mask went.
"Oh. I see. What are you going to do?" He asked Alex.
"Find the final piece, of course." He answered.
"It's getting late, brother." Veriti said. "Our visitor should rest before he goes looking for the key. You should let him stay somewhere."
"Yes, Veriti, of course." Paithos said. "Get a servant to do so."
"I will, brother." She said. "Come with me."
The underground of Ayuthay was deserted—it was a time of peace, no one was hiding. Veriti herself showed Alex to where the inn would be in times of warring, when their people were forced to hide.
"You said you knew where the Luna Mask was." Alex said when they arrived.
"Yes." She said, looking up at him.
"Tell me." He said, walking into the room.
"If I tell you..." She said, softly, following him, "Will you stay?"
She put a hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around to face her. To his own surprise, he let her. She brought a hand up to his mask, and he caught it. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."
"Please." She said. "I want to see your face. I'll find the Luna Mask for you if you let me."
Alex was stunned. He should be the one giving her orders like this, not the other way around. Why wasn't he doing anything? Why couldn't he remain collected, as usual?
She brought her hands up again, and this time he let her pull the mask away. His hair followed it for a moment, lingering before falling back around his face. Her eyes lit up, and he couldn't control himself any longer. He bent forward and caught her delicate mouth in a deep kiss. She let out a little squeak, which only made Alex smirk. She really was very beautiful... Maybe this could be fun.
He pulled away, for a moment, gazing deep into her eyes. "Maybe." He said, answering her earlier question. "For a while... If you want me..."
She pulled him back into another kiss, which he took as a yes.
The last coherent thought he had was that this was, perhaps, not the best thing to do. But it was too late for that—he was already caught in the wake of emotions he could no longer control, as was she.
"Where is the Luna Mask?" He asked, quietly, later that night.
"In a secret passage beneath the palace. I know how to get it. I'll bring it to you..."
"Perfect." Alex muttered, kissing her forehead. She still trembled in his embrace, and he smiled at her somewhat sadly. He hadn't intended to go as far as he had, but what was done was done.
"Who are you?" Veriti asked. "I—I'd like to know. Are you the one the prophecy says will restore the ways of the ancients to the world?"
"No." Alex said. "I'm not the one the prophecy foretells."
"Then who are you?"
"Promise it stays between us?" He asked, and she nodded. "Alex. That's my name. That's all you need to know."
"Alex." She beamed up at him. "I won't tell anyone."
"Good." Alex said. "Now go. Bring me the mask."
As Veriti nodded, stood, and walked silently from the room, Alex felt a strange emptiness he'd never known before. It scared him. Almost more than the Wise One had.
He knew then he couldn't stay, even if he wanted to. He had no use for such weakness. He had to cast it aside, just like everything, everyone else.
So, while he did stay long enough to fix the Alchemy Well and see Ayuthay begin to prosper again, he knew it was only a matter of days until he left again. During his stay he remained in the shadows, never showing his face to anyone but Veriti, never even revealing himself to anyone but Veriti and Paithos. He visited Veriti a few more times during his stay, but finally he had to break the news to her.
"I can't stay, Veriti." He whispered, barely audible. "I'm sorry."
He'd thought she'd taken it well, at least apparently. But he knew her heart was broken. His fault. His own stupidity had gotten him into this. He was too brilliant to be so foolish, but even the most brilliant man in Weyard could be a fool.
He was human, after all.
He left as silently as he had come, vowing to himself he would never return to Ayuthay. In fact, he'd avoid the entire Ei-Jei region as much as possible.
And it was because of that vow he never found out the truth: In his short stay in Ayuthay, he'd gotten Veriti with child. She'd broken the news to Paithos, who had taken it fairly well, and had even covered for her with the story of how she'd conceived the child of her own miraculous powers, the same that she'd used to fix the Well. All a lie, told to protect her honor. Veriti wasn't even an Adept, though her son, Amiti, was an exceedingly strong one, taking after his father in that and so much more.
Alex would meet Amiti one day, but he wouldn't know him. Not in passing, anyway. Not when he had so much else on his mind.
But eventually, he would have to learn the truth.
They all would.
...
So. There you have it. I think a good name for this ship is "Truthshipping," since Veriti means truth, and since Alex and Amiti don't know the truth yet, but it will have to come out eventually.
I was actually quite pleased with Dark Dawn, and eagerly await the next game that's sure to come!