Disclaimer: I have just been informed that I do not own the Golden Sun franchise. My nervous system has not yet recovered from the shock.
Author's Note: I'm afraid I neglected to mention my beta reader, Crab Apple Fairy, in the last chapter. She makes my story nice and pretty, and I give her cheese. It's a good deal. On with the story!
"Isaac, are you alright?"
Isaac dimly heard Jenna's voice, but he was lost in memories. That terrible storm… The boulder destroying Jenna's dock… and then, as he ran for help, two voices…
"What a terrible storm!"
"It's a miracle that even the two of us survived."
"Yes… the fury of Sol Sanctum is even greater than we anticipated."
Isaac held his breath as the voices paused.
"That switch… it must have been a trap."
"Indeed," the male voice sounded thoughtful. "We must not fail the next time we challenge Sol Sanctum."
"Isaac, wait up!" Isaac cringed as he heard Garet's voice behind him. He hoped the two strangers hadn't heard that.
"You there!" Isaac's hopes evaporated as he looked up at a man with blue hair that matched his blue skin…
"Isaac!"
Isaac blinked at his sudden return to reality. Jenna was standing in front of him, a concerned look on her face. "What's the matter with you? You look like you just saw a ghost."
Isaac didn't reply. How could he tell Jenna? That those two were responsible for the death of her entire family… no, he couldn't tell her that. She'd been spending the past three years trying to get over that day, and Isaac couldn't bring himself to remind her.
"Dude, you need to get a grip. They're just a couple of creepy strangers," Garet said, looking after them. "Really creepy…" he muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for Isaac to hear.
"I'm alright," Isaac finally ventured. "Just a little… shocked, that's all."
Jenna gave him a skeptical look. "No, really," Isaac insisted, dodging her gaze. "We'd better get going. We're already late meeting Kraden."
"All right," Jenna relented, and with that the group continued down the path to Kraden's cottage.
Isaac gave his head a mental shake. He needed to shape up, or Jenna and Garet would start thinking he was losing his mind. He resolved to keep Saturos and Menardi out of his mind.
The trio approached Kraden's cottage to find the wise scholar pacing outside his front door, muttering to himself. Isaac slowed to a halt at the old man's odd behavior, allowing him to just overhear part of Kraden's inner debate.
"They spoke as though they'd seen Sol Sanctum with their own eyes… and they knew far too much about Alchemy and the lighthouses. More than even I, a trained Alchemy sage, have found in my many years of research. Why are they here?"
"Kraden! We're here," Garet called out.
Kraden looked up at them, startled out of his thoughts. "Oh, Garet, Jenna, Isaac. Good to see you," he frowned slightly, furrowing his already wrinkled brow.
"Are you alright, Kraden?" Jenna said, giving him an odd look.
"Ah, yes, well…" Kraden said indecisively.
"It's those two creeps, wasn't it?" Garet asked angrily. "What were their names?"
"Saturos and Menardi," Isaac supplied. "Were they bothering you, Kraden?"
"Well, yes. They seem to want something from me. And it seems they will stop at little to get it," Kraden scratched his white hair nervously.
"They have no right to be bullying around an old scholar!" Jenna declared vehemently. "I'd like to go back there and give them a piece of my mind."
"Jenna, you can't!" Isaac cried impulsively. When she gave him a strange look, Isaac answered meekly, "Saturos and Menardi… they're extremely powerful."
Kraden gave Isaac a questioning glance. "You're right, Isaac. And they spoke of Sol Sanctum as though they'd been inside."
"If they've been inside Sol Sanctum, they've gone against the will of the elders!" Garet said angrily. "They could be thieves!"
"We have to go tell the town elders!" Jenna cried, turning. She and Garet began to set off when Kraden interrupted.
"Wait! Children, you're far too hasty. I have no way of verifying if what Saturos and Menardi said is true. Further investigation is needed."
Isaac looked at his teacher. "What are you suggesting, Kraden?"
"That we simply… verify… what they said."
"How would we do that?" Garet asked, confused.
Kraden took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "We can visit Sol Sanctum."
"But… that's impossible, isn't it?" Garet continued.
"Simply because the town elders forbid it?" Kraden shook his head. "It's not impossible if no one sees us."
Isaac felt a little excitement awaken within him. They were going to see the inside of Sol Sanctum! "I'm all for it. We really should find out exactly what Saturos and Menardi were up to."
"It can be our little secret, right?" Jenna said, a gleam in her brown eyes.
"Exactly." Kraden said, smiling for the first time that morning. "We'll make Isaac the leader, alright?"
Isaac started. Kraden wanted to make him the leader? "Uh…"
"Are you sure Isaac's up to it?" Garet asked skeptically.
"Oh, come on, Garet," Jenna said, rolling her eyes. "Isaac's more cautious than you are, so he'll do fine."
"Geez, you don't have to rub it in," Garet said defensively.
"Well then," Kraden said, clapping his hands together, "it's settled. Are you ready, Isaac?"
"Yeah, sure," Isaac said, unsure. At Garet and Jenna's sidelong glances, he repeated, "Yeah! Let's get going, then. We want as much time to explore as possible."
The four turned to leave when Kraden said, "Oh!" and raced inside his cottage. He soon reappeared, holding four grayish-silver bags. "We can go now."
Isaac turned and walked back along the path. He involuntary tensed as he passed the spot where they had met Saturos and Menardi, but continued on towards Mount Aleph, with Jenna, Garet, and Kraden close behind.
* * * * * *
Menardi slinked back from the edge of the cliff. "You were right, Saturos. They're heading for Mount Aleph."
Saturos smirked. "Kraden's curiosity may well lead us to the keys to Alchemy."
* * * * * *
Isaac crouched at the bottom of the stairs. He kept an eye on the healer pacing above, then motioned to his friends to join him at the foot of the stairs.
"What's up?" Garet asked.
"I'm going to sneak up towards the top of the stairs, and as soon as the healer moves to the other side of the sanctum, I'll give the signal. We'll all bolt for the path up Mount Aleph. If one of us gets left behind, just distract the healer and the other three will go on without them. Agreed?"
Silent nods met his gaze. Wasting no more words, Isaac crawled up to the top of the stairs. As the healer approached on his rounds, Isaac sank back a little, then let out a breath as the healer passed by him. As soon as the coast was clear, Isaac signaled to his friends and raced for the path.
He stopped a little ways up the path and waited for everyone else to catch up. Jenna was first, followed by the slower Garet. Soon Kraden followed, wheezing slightly.
"I think… we gave them… the slip," he panted.
"Good," Isaac said. "We can go slower now."
The quartet turned and began to hike up the path. As soon as Kraden got his breath back, he began lecturing his students.
"Now, you all know that Mt. Aleph is our most sacred peak, home to Sol Sanctum, the resting place of Alchemy. Hundreds of years ago, Alchemy was free upon this realm, and people used it to create great civilizations. The sanctums were built during this Golden Age, as well as the four elemental lighthouses."
"The elemental lighthouses?" Jenna questioned as they trekked up the mountain.
"Yes. Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. One for each element. These lighthouses contained all the power of that element. Those who dwelled at the foot of the lighthouses became skilled Adepts in that particular element. They formed clans, and protected the lighthouses against all evil."
"Unfortunately, Alchemy was too great a power for some. A few tried to use Alchemy's gifts to become rich, wage war, and gain dominion over the entire world. A few brave Adepts decided the only way to save the world from strife would be to seal Alchemy away. So these Adepts traveled to the four elemental lighthouses. After penetrating the defenses of the lighthouse, they absorbed its power into one of the four Elemental Stars that they had created specifically for that purpose. Anyone who held an Elemental Star had complete power over that element."
"When the four Adepts had absorbed the power of all four lighthouses, they destroyed the Stone of Sages, the source of all Alchemy. The seal on Alchemy was in place, but still, one man tried to take dominion of all men. One of the very Adepts who placed the seal on Alchemy stole all the Elemental Stars and tried to use their power to conquer the world. He was defeated by his three former companions, who realized that four Elemental Stars were little better than the threat Alchemy had been. So to limit the power of the Elemental Stars, the remaining three Adepts took themselves and their fallen comrade and split their spirits into creatures called Djinn. Each Djinni took a fraction of the power of the Elemental Star it was aligned with. The Djinn were sealed within the Elemental Stars, which have been lost for centuries, even to this day."
Isaac scratched his head. "So the power of Alchemy is contained within the Elemental Stars."
"And the Djinn hold the power of the Elemental Stars," Jenna added.
"Correct, but the Elemental Stars also hold one more power: the power to relight the elemental lighthouses. If this were to come to pass, the threat of Alchemy would once again be unleashed upon Weyard." Kraden paused. "Ah, I believe we have arrived."
Isaac looked at the mountainside in front of him. Carved into the rocky ground was a giant seal with the emblem of Sol emblazoned upon it. Ahead, two staircases led to a giant stone door, flanked by several pillars carved into the mountainside. Isaac could feel the air around him dancing, as though he had just entered a holy place where spirits danced around him. He heard Garet come up beside him and watched his gaze travel across the sanctum's entrance.
"Wow," was all he could say.
"This is amazing," Jenna said, awestruck. She took a few steps closer to the door. "Well, let's go explore, guys!"
"I agree," Kraden said, hastening forward. Isaac and Garet hurried to follow in their wake.
"This is a sacred relic of our past, children," Kraden sternly reminded his pupils as they pushed open the heavy stone door. "I trust you will treat it as such."
The group found themselves in a long hallway carved of stone. Torches lit up the hallway in an eerie blue light as they proceeded deeper into the Sanctum. Shadows danced across Isaac's faced as he followed Jenna through the winding hallway. Suddenly, noises could be heard from further down the hallway.
"Kraden, what's that?" Jenna asked from the front.
"Well, it's likely there's some wild animals in here. Nothing too dangerous, but they may attack us," Kraden looked slightly distracted.
"Hey, fearless leader!" Jenna called, looking at Isaac with a smirk. "Maybe you'd better take the front and lead us."
"Sure, Jenna," Isaac said. Garet suppressed a snort next to him, which Isaac chose to ignore. He walked up next to Jenna and they proceeded down the hallway. Soon they came to a small pool of water, with what looked like stepping stones in it. At the opposite end of the pool, three different paths diverged.
"Hmm…" Kraden said from behind Isaac. "I don't know which way to go. Maybe we should split up and explore all three."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Garet said.
"Why not? Is Garet afraid?" Jenna taunted.
"No, I just wouldn't want you to get eaten by monsters, and be free from your temper forever," Garet countered.
"That's enough, you two," Isaac said, holding his hands up. "We're going to stick together, just in case there's anything seriously dangerous in here." He paused, then made his decision. "And we're taking the middle path."
He suited his actions to his words and began to hop from stone to stone. After a somewhat circuitous path, he reached the middle branch and motioned for his friends to follow. After a short trek, the party reached a dead end.
"Nice going, Isaac," Jenna snorted.
"Hey, someone had to make a decision to stop your bickering."
"Excuse me," Kraden interjected, "But there seems to be some sort of a chest here."
Isaac and Jenna both glanced at the area Kraden was indicating. There was indeed a chest, which Garet was kneeling over. He opened the chest carefully and took out a small, round object.
"What is it?" Jenna asked.
"It's a small jewel. Nothing special," Garet commented, putting the jewel in his pouch.
"Well, let's head back," Isaac said.
Once they reached the pool, Isaac stood, deciding which path to take. Jenna suddenly interrupted.
"Let's take the left path this time," she said.
"That decision is up to our leader," Kraden pointed out.
"I'm sure that's exactly what he was going to say. Right, Isaac?" Jenna said, smiling sweetly.
"Well…" Isaac started, then swallowed as Jenna's face turned murderous. "Yes," he said meekly.
"Good!" Jenna said, starting across the pond. Isaac sighed and followed.
Soon they reached the end of the hallway, at yet another dead end.
"Way to go, Jenna," Garet grumbled.
"Hey, it wasn't my choice, it was Isaac's!" the auburn-haired girl replied innocently.
Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but he was cut short by Kraden interjecting. "We'll just go back and take the other fork, alright?"
Isaac just nodded exasperatedly and started back down the passage.
* * * * * *
As Jenna wandered down the final fork behind Isaac, she idly wondered if she had pushed him a little too far. He'd been awfully quiet. In fact, everyone was being quiet. She wondered if it was the excessive hiking or the fact that they were doing something that could land them in big trouble.
Suddenly, the passage ended in dead end. Again.
"You've got to be kidding me," Garet said aloud.
Kraden seemed to be lost in thought, and Isaac was standing there looking confused, so Jenna decided to pick on Garet.
"Well at least you got a little jewel out of it. It'll go perfectly as an earring on you, Garet."
"Just what are you insinuating?" Garet demanded.
"Oh, come on, Garet," Jenna said condescendingly. "I know you just love jewelry. Why, I'll bet you have more than I do!"
"Ah, you're just grumpy 'cause we're at a dead end," Garet grumbled.
Isaac snapped his fingers, interrupting the argument. "Jenna, stop egging Garet on. Garet, stop rising to the bait and give me that jewel you found."
Garet looked at Isaac with faint surprise, then shrugged and handed over the jewel. "I get it back when you're done with it. Or better yet, give it to the jewelry queen over there."
Jenna glared at Garet, then decided to stop wasting her time on him and turned to see what Isaac was doing. He seemed to examining a statue on the wall very closely. From what Jenna could see, the statue seemed to be the head of a minotaur.
"What is it, Isaac?" she said.
"There's something funny about this minotaur statue," he said, pointing, "See how it only has one eye?"
Jenna looked closer. He was right; one eye of the bull was sparkling in the flickering torchlight, but the other was just an empty socket in the stone.
"That is odd," Jenna admitted, "but so what?"
"This," Isaac said. He took Garet's jewel, and as the party watched him with interest, inserted in into the empty socket. A deep rumbling was heard somewhere within the mountain, and the ground they were standing on shook slightly.
Jenna waited until everything was calm, then ventured, "What was that?"
"I'm not sure," Isaac admitted, "But I willing to bet we're one step closer to the heart of the Sanctum."
He whirled from the statue and led the way back down the hall. Jenna followed, privately impressed. Maybe he was a good leader after all. Garet, on the other hand…
"Hey, does this mean Garet doesn't get his earring back?" And she ran to avoid Garet's lunge.
* * * * * *
Isaac sighed mentally, but kept a straight face otherwise. Jenna was teasing Garet as only Jenna could; and while it was entertaining at times, now he was just getting a headache.
Suddenly, a large bat flew out of the darkness, striking Jenna in the head. She reeled back in pain as the bat wheeled around for another pass. But Isaac had already drawn his sword, and as the bat took aim at Jenna a second time, he leapt in front of her and slashed with his sword. The bat fell to the floor, its left wing landing some distance away. The bat thrashed around until Garet stabbed it through the chest, ending the struggles.
"I say!" Kraden exclaimed, "Well done, boys."
Isaac took Jenna's arm and asked, "Are you alright?"
Jenna looked at him and nodded. "Yeah. More surprised than anything else." She reached up and touched her forehead, and her fingers came away stained red.
"Hold still," Isaac said. He reached out and held his hand over her forehead, closing his eyes. A pale yellow glow emanated from his hand.
"I wonder why we didn't find that bat before," Garet said, puzzled.
"We've probably opened another passageway!" Kraden cried, excited. "We'll have to be more on our guard now," he continued, glancing at Jenna.
The glow faded as Isaac took his hand away from Jenna's forehead. She reached up and touched her forehead, and encountering no broken skin, she looked at Isaac and said, "Thanks."
Isaac smiled at her, then turned back up the passageway. "Let's go," he said.
A/N (the sequel): I'd especially like to thank Rain Child, who gave me my first review and a bonus lollipop. Please follow the example: read and review!