Chapter two, here we go. Enjoy!
Of Mana and Psynergy
II
After two days and a half passed, the group of four teens and Noishe had finally reached the desert's edge, having started through their trek at nightfall, just as Matthew had suggested. The area was full of sand, sand, and of course, more sand. The desert's breeze swept over them, bringing dust and debris with it, pelting the teenagers at every other turn. It was annoying, to say the least. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about the torturous heatwave as books claimed the dry deserts had, and were glad the priests at the House of Salvation gave them a few traveling supplies they could spare. This included water in canteens, blankets, pillows and food.
"Ugh, just sand dunes everywhere we look!" Lloyd complained.
Genis sighed. "Well, look at the bright side. At least we aren't walking around during the day."
"I suppose so." The brunet replied, still grumbling.
Matthew and Karis remained behind the two chatting friends, though stayed close enough in case for monsters or bandits decided to sneak up on them. They had an edge anyway; Matthew could detect someone or something was coming due to the ground beneath his feet. Being on sand diminished the power a little, as it was just "softened dirt", though his abilities proved to be useful throughout their travels. When asked by Genis, he simply told the elf boy that his alignment of using magic was earth, and Karis told him that she was aligned with wind magic mostly. It was as close as they could get without revealing too much.
"Uh-oh, more monsters." Matthew alerted the group as he whipped out his fork-pronged blade, as Lloyd "dubbed" it. Karis took out her bow, Genis with his kendama and Lloyd with his double wooden blades. It annoyed the red-clad swordsman that Matthew had a real sword and he didn't. Ah well.
The monsters that foolishly challenged them were nothing more than these green snakes and scorpions. Pathetic.
"Hah! Sword Rain!" Lloyd shouted as his multiple jabbing attacks struck one of the scorpions. It hissed as each wooden blade's stab pierced through its tough hide.
"Wind Blade!" Genis chanted, casting the magic attack of wind to hit the same scorpion Lloyd attacked. The monster fell dead, and the boys turned to their next target.
"Dragon Cloud!" Matthew casted the flaming, roaring dragon of Psynergy from simply nowhere; the attack crushed one of the poisonous snakes. It managed to survive, only to be met with Matthew's down thrust. Karis dodged the other snake's poison attack, leaping towards the left when it tried, narrowing her violet eyes upon the monster.
A purple light emitted from her hands as she shouted "Plasma!" casting the Psynergy bolt upon the snake. It was zapped, falling to the group helplessly, hissing. Karis took this opportunity to finish it with a simple shot of her bow. The four then cornered the last monster, a scorpion, and something instinctively hit them.
"You ready?" Lloyd voiced. "Let's do this!"
"Ready!" Matthew replied.
Instantaneously, both swordsmen charged the scorpion simultaneously, crossing their blades at it with sharpened speed. They made an 'X' shape when they passed it, striking it down. Karis and Genis both casted Whirlwind and Wind Blade simultaneously after their friends struck the scorpion. It shattered to pieces, crumbling to the ground.
"Huh, that was great." The red-clad boy grinned. "We really work together well."
"Yeah." Karis giggled.
The group shared some comments and chuckles before continuing their way through the desert. An hour or so passed when they paused for a small break, and soon noticed over the horizon, that the sun's light was barely visible. Uh-oh. "The sun's coming up…" Genis paled. "We better find some shade soon."
"I agree. Let's hope we find something." The girl of the group agreed.
It wasn't long until they found an alcove from the sand dunes, hurrying to shelter inside it as the sun rose higher for the morning to begin. That was close. The teens sighed in relief and exasperation once they sat down in the shaded area, taking out their water canteens and drinking as much as they could without wasting or drinking all of it. "This heat is already eating at me." Lloyd grumbled in complaint. He took off his red jacket, now in his black tank top. Matthew chuckled slightly, putting his canteen away in his bag. He realized that the heat didn't bother him for some reason. That was odd. Half an hour ago, he was feeling annoyed by the heat's pressure, but now it seemed he didn't feel it anymore.
Ah well, he mused to himself, removing his blue jacket. They needed to rest first and then eat to refill their energy to walk again for the night.
A few minutes passed and the others were soundly asleep under the shade; Matthew had volunteered to be the day-watch first for bandits and monsters for a while. He stared out into the sand dunes, watching the dust blow about whimsically as he concentrated and thought deeply about…
-x-x-x-
"You, Matthew, the boy with the strange and powerful mana…Rise." A masculine voice spoke to Matthew, who shook his head from shock. He and his friend, Karis, had landed somewhere in this odd, foreign world.
"Huh? …What? Where's my father…?" Matthew wondered, clueless. He stood up when he heard the voice speaking to him; he looked up and saw something he thought was a figment of his imagination. A…An angel?! And he knew his name, too?
"What the? Who are you?" The blond wondered, staring.
"I am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis sent to guide the Chosen of Mana on her Journey of Regeneration." The angel replied monotonously. He had short blond hair, a hat of sorts atop his head, wearing green and white robes. His eyes were a pale blue color, though they seemed almost dead to Matthew. The spiky blond blinked, confused. Who was the Chosen? What was a Journey of Regeneration? Huh?
"Okay…" Matthew whispered. "So…uh…"
"Our leader of Cruxis has noticed your presence of mana, and has an offer for you, young one."
"Offer?"
The angel man nodded. "Yes. In order for the Chosen to succeed on her journey, she requires a guardian."
"…She does? What does that have to do with me?"
"We would like for you to become her guardian, young one."
Matthew paused. Him? A guardian of someone he didn't know? But, this was odd. Sure, he was exposed to the powers of both Luna and Sol—Darkness and Light—so why…? "Why me?"
"Our leader solely wishes that you protect the Chosen, to guard her as she awakens the seals and saves the world. We have enabled a Cruxis Crystal for you in order to transform into a greater force so protecting her will not become an hindrance to you." The angel continued. His eyes met with Matthew's stunned ones. "I ask that you—"
"…If I accept, what happens to me?" He was curious. He wasn't going to accept something that was foreign to him.
"Should you accept, you will be granted a Cruxis Crystal, which shall transform you into an angel. Your heightened abilities and powers will lend you the aid you need to protect the Chosen. The transformation will be quick as you are needed to catch up with the Chosen to guard her as she releases the Seals." Remiel began almost in a repeat, holding out a golden sphere of sorts, encased in a silver crest. "You will also be able to tell where the Chosen is, should you become separated. When she is in peril, the crystal will alert your senses of her presence and guide you to where she is."
Matthew stared transfixed at the glowing gem embedded in the crest. This sounded so important and all the while, so odd. Why was he pulled into this? Of course, being in contact with the energies of Sol and Luna possibly made him stand out with the rush of Psynergy, but this? This was WEIRD. However, protecting people was something he liked doing, not only for himself but because he wanted to. Was he suitable for this? …He had to be, otherwise this otherworldly being wouldn't have approached him. He took a deep sigh of exasperation, locking his gaze with the angel's.
"I accept. If it is to protect someone important to a journey to save the world, then I'll help in any way I can."
"Then, Matthew, guardian of Mana's might, I bestow upon you this Cruxis Crystal." The angel nodded for the boy to remove his scarf. Matthew blinked, then noticed and unraveled his scarf, exposing his neck. He was a little afraid, but what could happen, anyway? The glowing object floated near him, illuminating his hair and face; it suddenly flashed then it was done. The silver crest of the golden gem was around his neck like a choker, embedded there. Matthew gasped lightly, then suddenly, buckled over. He gaped, cried out, as his body was instantaneously changing for some reason.
His Psynergy was collecting into one area of his body then it enveloped him like flames. He gagged, clutching his head as images burned into his memory. One thing for certain he saw was a young girl with long, blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing white robes was embedded into his memory. This had to be the Chosen of Mana, who he was asked to guard. To protect. Then, a sharp, agonizing pain erupted through his body and burned against his back. Something was coming, but the spiky blond couldn't tell what it was.
It was a mass of Psynergy, or mana, whatever it was, trying to break through some sealing, trying to be free. The boy couldn't hold it in any longer; with a breathing gasp, he allowed his energy to release itself. His golden Psynergy of earth whirled around his back as gold and white, transparent feathers fell around him. Matthew's pale-blue eyes widened when he saw a few falling before him. What? Feathers? He dared himself to look around and when he sensed the presence of Psynergy behind him, he looked.
Ejecting from his back, in the transparent form of his earth energy, were…wings. Wings? Matthew, stunned for about five minutes, watched as the magical wings outspread and flapped whimsically. They were almost like a bird's, but which bird, he was unsure of. The more he studied the wings, the more he grew wary of their shape. "…Heron…" He mumbled, recalling a faint image of one he read in a book. He'd always imagine what it was like to fly like the ancient race of the Anemos, which his friend, Karis, was a descendant of. But, all of this? This was weird!
"The transformation is complete." Remiel said as Matthew stood up with his extremely bright, glowing wings behind him. "You will soon discover your loss of many things, such as appetite, sleep, touch, taste and feel. These are small sacrifices in order to fulfill the purpose of guarding the Chosen."
What? He would lose his senses just to become a guardian angel? How selfless and selfish at the same time!
"Matthew, you now are no longer a human, but an angel. Find the Chosen of Mana and aid her." Remiel said, now beginning to disappear into the light in whence he came. Matthew stared at the winged man as he vanished, confused but in a way, not entirely. He lost his humanity all in that one moment? Would he ever go back to being normal after the Chosen's Journey was completed? What would he tell his father if they ever found him? "I don't know how I'd tell him… I can't just walk up to him and say, 'Hey Dad, guess what? I'm not a human anymore, I'm an angel, look!' …" Matthew sighed as his wings echoed his emotion. Would he lose his emotions, too?
"I should have asked… But… I better go find the Chosen." His eyes glanced to the unconscious form of Karis. "I can't tell her yet. Not now…I'm sorry, Karis."
-x-x-x-
Matthew sighed, having glanced down. It had actually been a week since he and Karis arrived on this world, Sylvarant. Within the second day they had been there, that angel man appeared before him when Karis was knocked out. Perhaps, he was going through a stage of this angel transformation. Losing his senses just to become a guardian, hm? Sounded awkward to him, but he couldn't turn down anyone who needed help. His pale-blue eyes went to Lloyd and Genis; he couldn't tell them either. They would probably freak out. The blond had no choice. He'd have to keep it a secret.
It was a good thing they stumbled into the former Iselians. They would practically lead him to the Chosen instead of him trying to find her. He had feigned not knowing her or mana days ago. He didn't want them to be suspicious of him, but that only made them suspicious. Matthew sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"
An hour later, Genis and the others woke up to allow Matthew to rest, which the blond was thankful he could actually do. He didn't lose his need for sleep yet. "When you wake up, Matthew, I'll have sandwiches made! You know, since it's too hot for anything hot to eat." The silver-haired elf boy smiled. The Adept nodded as he lied his head down on the pillow he had, making sure the Cruxis Crystal was invisible to them. The three of them began to indulge in a light conversation, namely about Triet and their plan of combat. The chatter began to fade off in Matthew's ears as he drifted off to sleep.
-x-x-x-
"…He's sleep, good." Karis confirmed the other two, having checked up on her spiky-haired Adept friend. "He looked so exhausted when we woke up."
"It bet it's the heat." Lloyd pointed out. "I'd be exhausted, too."
"Me too." Genis added as his hands were working on sandwiches. "Hey Karis, do you like tomatoes?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah they're okay on a salad and sandwich."
"Okay. I was asking since Lloyd doesn't like them." The elven mage glanced at his red-clad friend, who 'hmphed' after taking a bite out of his sandwich. "I wanted to be sure."
"Ah, I see. Lloyd, are you allergic to tomatoes or something?"
The boy shrugged, shaking his head, swallowing. "No, I just don't like them. They taste gross." He answered.
"That makes sense, I suppose. I don't like onions, if that counts for anything." Karis said, smiling awkwardly. "Matthew…it's hard to tell what he likes. He eats anything."
Genis and Lloyd glanced at each other then back to Karis. "Anything?" They repeated.
"Yeah…" The girl confirmed, losing her smile as she noticed their cringing faces. "What's with the face?"
"Uh… Well my sister has terrible cooking…" Genis began, shaking nervously. "Her stuff is…well it's just not good to eat."
"Oh. I didn't know. I…I hope we don't have to eat her cooking."
"Something tells me we will." Lloyd grumbled. The three went in downcast, shaking nervously. Karis looked up, trying to smile, but it was weak. Given that it was hot as hell out in the desert and thinking about someone's terrible cooking made her cringe in the stomach. How would she even survive?
"Uh, well, I hope it isn't as bad as you make it sound." The Adept girl said.
"Trust us…" Lloyd twitched. "It is."
-x-x-x-
On their third day through the desert, nightfall came and the teens proceeded through their trek of the desert once more. The evening breeze felt good to Karis; she enjoyed it as much as she could, despite dust and sand being blown their way. Before they set off, she dug into her bag and handed each of the boys a white, glowing feather. Genis and Lloyd gaped in surprise to see it, though the girl told them it was a Sacred Feather. Matthew followed up and explained it had the power to repel monsters. This way, they could reserve their energy for walking instead of battling so many monsters and growing exhausted. It was cheap, but it would help.
After explaining how it worked, they held up the feathers, the feathers 'exploding' as light swept over their bodies like a pile of down. Weird sensation, but it worked just fine.
Still, they had ran into some bandits, who demanded the boys hand over their money and Karis, but they fell as easily as flies were being swatted with a fly swatter. Karis herself fumed at the derogatory name they labeled her as, even using Whirlwind on them to send them packing at a far distance. Lloyd and Genis reminded themselves to not call Karis anything but her name, preferring to leave the "doll" comment away from her as possible. Matthew sighed when his friend did such. While she was the calmest person, she was the most feared one if she got upset. This was no different.
During the travel, they spotted something—or rather Matthew noticed—along the way. It was a campsite! He also noticed the crystal giving him the insight of the Chosen nearby as well. She was close, so that had to be them. "Come on! I think that's Colette and them!" Lloyd grinned in delight. He shot off like a rocket, with Genis and Noishe behind him.
"Wait for me, Lloyd!" The elf boy called out. Karis and Matthew exchanged looks before dashing off behind them.
At the campsite, a girl with long, blonde hair, wearing white robes, was lying down on her blanket that had been spread out earlier. Her eyes looked into the fire that was burning in the center. To her left was a young woman in about her early twenties with silver-white hair, blue eyes and wearing an orange robe over her dark blue pants and white shirt. To her left was a man in a purple outfit, his auburn hair over the left side of his face and the top portion of his hair spiked slightly to the right. The rest of his hair swept down, passing his ears a little. He had a sword sheathed to his left hip, his eyes closed, though he was not sleep.
However, he opened his eyes the moment he heard something. Drawing his sword, he and the woman with silver-white hair stood up, looking out into the darkness of the desert, sensing the presence coming closer. After a prolonged silence, the blonde haired girl noticed someone in red and blue waving to them. Her eyes sparkled in delight.
"Heeeeey!" Lloyd called out, waving. "Colette!"
"Lloyd!" the girl called Colette shot up in an instant, running over to the brunet. Lloyd laughed, throwing down his stuff, racing to meet the girl half way. Matthew laughed lightly, picking up Lloyd's belongings, heading towards the campsite. Colette tripped over a small sand dune, falling into Lloyd's grasp. However, the force of the trip caused them both to fall into the sand. They shared glances for a moment before laughing together. A voice called to them, making them sit up.
"Colette! We're glad we found you." Genis said as the blonde got up and hugged the elf boy.
"You're both here. I was so worried." The Chosen shed a few tears of joy. "I'm so happy." Her blue eyes fell on the two Adepts, who returned her gaze.
"Hello Colette. It's good to finally meet you." Karis said, smiling. "I'm Karis, and this is Matthew." She introduced her spiky blond friend. "We heard a good amount from your friends here when we met up with them." Matthew nodded with Karis as Colette turned to Lloyd and Genis, who were grinning.
"They want to come with us, Colette. To help you regenerate the world." The brunet said.
"Oh!" The blonde giggled. "That's great! Come on, let's go back to the camp then!"
The four teens nodded in agreement, excited to finally have caught up. However, Matthew stared at the back of Colette's head, almost boring a hole through it. This was the girl he had to protect, to guard. She was the Chosen of Mana, and he was dubbed the guardian of mana. Something like that. When they approached the campsite with the mercenary and teacher—Kratos and Raine—a whole explanation was in place. Noishe lied down observing the conversation, somewhat.
Lloyd and Genis first explained the incident of Iselia, which the other three had come to know about when they had traveled back to Iselia to pick up a few more items. The village was in flames, though most died out as the villagers had been working to put it out. Next, they explained how they met Karis and Matthew along the way, and how they were lost. Karis invited herself in the conversation whereas Matthew remained silent, but still paid attention. He couldn't help but feel someone was staring at him. He managed to look away from his random transfixed gaze on the fire in the center, locking gazes with the auburn-haired mercenary.
His eyes bored a hole through him this time, causing the teen to flinch a bit. Whoa, what a gaze.
"I see." Raine said as Genis, Lloyd and Karis finished their story. "Well, I'm glad you're all right, all four of you. But tell me, Karis and Matthew, why is it you both have a large amount of mana and you can both use magic when you're both completely human?" This caught Kratos' attention very well.
"Well, I suppose it has to do with our family lineage." The green haired girl began. "It may be because we have elven ancestry." She lied, but it worked anyway. They couldn't tell them now.
"Hm, I see. That makes sense." The Iselian teacher noted. However, the mana emitting from Matthew was exceptionally large. Larger than anything she's ever seen before.
"To be honest, we're lost, but we're looking for someone." Matthew parted in. "More so me, but…"
"Who are you looking for, anyway?" Lloyd wondered. "You didn't say before when we met, though we didn't press on that, either."
The blond turned to Lloyd with a sad gaze. "I'm looking for my father." This phrase almost caused Kratos to shudder, though he kept it invisible to the rest of them. "He was with us when we came to this…odd world, I guess you can say. Then, we were separated. I don't know where he is…" Matthew looked downcast, sighing sadly. "I know he's alive. I can sense him, but it's very faint. I know he can handle himself but still…He's my dad." Karis put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.
"We'll find Isaac. I'm sure of it, Matthew. We just have to keep trying." She said hopefully.
"Yeah." He raised his head. "I just can't give up. I know he's out there somewhere. I can't lose him. Mom would be… really sad."
Lloyd sadly looked over his new swordsman friend, almost feeling some form of kinship with him. He believed somewhere that he'd meet his real father at some point. Dirk told him that his father was never found at the bottom of cliff, so there was an assumption the man was alive. Somewhere. The red-clad boy felt the man was so ever close, too. Like, if he was right in front of him. "I can see why you feel that way, Matthew." Lloyd began, gaining the attention of everyone around the camp. "I… Dirk told me about my mother, and that my father wasn't found with us and Noishe. I…I hope that somewhere along this journey, that I find my real dad, too." He sighed heavily.
"I just hope he's out there." The brunet finished. Colette repeated the same motion Karis did for Matthew, smiling.
"He's out there, Lloyd. We'll help you find him, too."
Kratos' heart almost sunk at this point, but he kept his emotions well hidden.
Matthew lit up a little, feeling like he could actually abide in Lloyd. They shared something in common; they both want to find their fathers, and they were both skilled swordsman. "Lloyd. I'll help you as well. We both are looking for the same thing, our dads. We'll find them together, okay?" The brunet looked up, gazing in the spiky blond's own. He nodded, feeling that reassuring smile prod his features.
"Yeah. We'll both find our dads."
And, I know. It's short. XD Heh… And yes I made Matthew an angel. Namely because of his Sol and Luna contact. To those who have played Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, you'll probably know where that comes from. Also, my Matthew is in the Samurai class now, so that explains his Psynergy in this. He'll still have Ragnorak/Odyssey because I said so. Karis is in the White Mage class because it's fun and she needs to be a healer. So yeah. Review if you like.