Symphonic Abyss
Chapter 4:
Raine paused as she heard footsteps. None of the priests were allowed to move, and Phaidra had left to make a compromise with the Desians attacking. She quickly chanted one last first aid as she crept towards the door. There were multiple sets of footsteps, meaning there was more than one person, and no cane meant that Phaidra wasn't amongst them. The eleven teacher held her staff up high, waiting to at least get one good hit in, when…
"I hope Raine is okay."
"Don't worry, we beat those Desians so she should be!"
The woman couldn't help but smile, she recognised those two voices anywhere but... Wait a minute, shouldn't have those two been in class?
"Genis! Lloyd! What are you two doing out of class?"
The two boys suddenly stopped talking, and as the group came into view, Genis and Lloyd were very pale, and seemed rather scared.
Luke watched the two go from happy to terrified within a few seconds, that's when he took his cue to step in : "Sorry Raine. Lloyd, Genis and Colette were all trying to sneak out of class. Since you told me never to let Colette out of sight I had to go with them." he explained, it was vague but seemed to do the trick in calming Lloyd and Genis. Just what did the professor do to them?
"Well at least you made sure they were okay Luke." Raine said, trying her hardest to not show the small smile creeping its way onto her face. She decided she was happier knowing they were safe than she was angry. The professor then turned to Kratos, who had been standing silently to the side "And you are?"
"Kratos, a mercenary. The Chosen's grandmother hired me." The mercenary replied as stoic as ever.
"Well then, I guess that is three of us protecting Colette. I'm going with her as a healer." The elf remarked. There was a moment of silence as she checked over the last priest, before her face lit up. Genis groaned.
"Since Colette is going to receive the Oracle, would it be too much for me to join you?"
Luke could have sworn he saw stars in her eyes, kind of like Anise with older rich men, or Guy with fontech. Raine was obsessed with something.
Kratos shrugged, he didn't really care either way, a healer would be useful, but the task wouldn't be too hard. Taking his shrug for a yes, Raine rushed forward with barely contained excitement.
Everyone was confused, except for Genis, he just sighed again.
The group continued through the temple, hoping to find some way to the Oracle. Though Colette had trained all of her life for this, without the priests she was unsure of where to go. "Well, um, I'm sorry. The temple seems… different than usual. I don't know where to go."
"I guess that means we'll just have to walk around the place and find out." Luke shrugged. It wasn't as if he was used to doing that.
Kratos however was taking the situation far more seriously "There are monsters around. Stay on your guard."
"Heh," Lloyd grinned "no worries. We can handle a few easy monsters."
His words made the eldest swordsman pause, the boy had no stance, and though he seemed sure-footed, his technique left much to be desired. "Wait. Lloyd," he hesitated before continuing, something that Raine and Luke seemed to notice, "you are self-taught in swordplay correct?" The question seemed innocent enough, but it was Kratos asking so there had to be something behind this.
"Yeah why?" Lloyd was immediately on the defensive
The mercenary said nothing, instead choosing to throw the dual wielder a book. Raine internally laughed. She knew Lloyd would never read it.
"What's this thing?"
"If you want to become a better swordsman, then at least learn the basics." Kratos' tone was harsh, leaving no room for argument as he walked forward to deal with the monsters that had approached even closer.
Of course, the words left the youngest swordsman angry "Hmph! He thinks he knows everything does he?"
Nobody chose to comment of Lloyd's poor choice of words when it came to talking about an older more experience. He would learn in time, or at least they hoped.
With the tension Kratos and Lloyd had created for the group, they continued through the temple. It was during which multiple things were discovered, a Sorcerers Ring that Lloyd had way too much fun with for anyone to want to let him keep it, especially when he burned his shoes. And that the Professor had a rather unhealthy obsession with anything old, and/or in ruins. And that block puzzles were long, stupid and hopefully not a trend.
In all actuality, the temple hadn't taken that long to get through, but to Luke, it felt like forever. And he was openly relieved when they reached what he assumed to be a teleporter. They were so cool, Guy would be having the time of his life trying to figure out how it worked. Lorelei tried to explain, but it involved too many complicated words that only Jade would understand. At first however, it was rather terrifying to watch Raine just walk through and disappear. It had taken the joint efforts of Luke and suprisinly Kratos, in all his stoic ways to convince Genis that Raine was alright, and they quickly followed suit to the teleporter.
"This appears to be the top floor" Kratos observed.
Colette nodded "Yes. This is the altar. The Oracle should be here."
Having explained, the young Chosen walked forward towards the first step of her destiny. The altar was glowing orange, like a flame; with a small shining orange orb in the middle.
Lloyd naturally took a sudden interest in the orb, like a magpie really. "So that must be the Cruxis Crystal." He observed
"That's right." Colette replied, with Raine giving a satisfied nod behind her. "According to my Grandmother, I was born holding it in my hand. That's what signified I was the Chosen."
Great, Luke thought, more things to ask Lorelei later. He was a little disgruntled, who would have thought another world would be so complicated?
Lorelei grumbled as well, but for different reasons. Luke was a little too oblivious at times.
"Woah! Look at that light!" Genis said in awe, his sister agreeing next to him.
The others said nothing as a bright light came down from the blue domed ceiling. A yellow ball of light floated down and with a bright flash transformed into an angel! The angel wore a green robe of all shades, white boots with a greenish tint, and a green hat with gold linings was atop his golden hair. He wouldn't have been that out of place in Daath, except for the white pair of feathery wings.
"What, what is that?!" Lloyd exclaimed in shock.
Luke was stunned into silence.
They all stood, staring at the angel, each with varying emotions, most shock and awe, then there was Kratos. Even an angel didn't faze him. The angel just floated, a calm, almost eerily so , smile on his face as he waited for the Chosen.
"So, this is Colette's real father." Raine stated being the first to break the silence. Nobody seemed surprised by this fact except for Luke.
"Real… father?" He repeated, trying to understand. Again nobody said anything, all watching Colette walk up to the angel.
"I am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis." The angel finally spoke "I have been sent to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the Seventh Chosen."
He floated down to the altar as the aforementioned Cruxis Crystal floated towards him. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel from her slumber at the centre of the earth, so she shall purify the land of Sylvarant."
"Awaken the Goddess Martel. This is just like the legend, huh Raine?" Genis whispered to his sister.
"Indeed." Raine smiled as she held him close.
The Cruxis Crystal then descended gently towards Colette, who held out her palms in order to catch it. But the young Chosen didn't have to, since it continued floating, until in another flash of light, it reappeared around her neck, attached firmly in place.
"From this day onwards, Colette is the Chosen of Regeneration." The angel continued the ceremony "Cruxis has now blessed this event, and shall now bestow upon the world the Tower Of Salvation."
As soon as he finished speaking, the earth trembled, shaking the temple fiercly.
Raine's good mood vanished as part of the temple seemed to not withstand the shaking, the younger companions tried to stay upright, and Kratos stayed, well… Kratos.
However as quickly as the trembling began, it had finished, and the temple was once again silent as everyone processed the situation, until Lloyd noticed the Tower of Salvation, having the five of them, minus Kratos, scramble to the nearby window. Outside, a huge tower stood tall, extending to the heavens, towering over the land.
"Colette." Remiel called out, making the group move away from the window. "Unlock the seals that protect the Tower of Salvation and the climb its stairs to heaven. Then the world shall be saved."
And Luke could return home.
"I humbly accept this task that has been asked of me." The Chosen said with a bow.
"Very well. We of Cruxis shall lend you our strength little by little as you unlock the seals of the world. Once you have been fully reformed as an angel, and have climbed to the peak of the Tower of Salvation, this corrupted world shall once again be regenerated."
"I swear upon my life that I will regenerate this world." Colette said with determination.
"Good. First you shall head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers at the altar and you shall be granted the gifts of Cruxis."
"Of course, Lord Remiel." The Chosen said solemnly.
Having accomplished his mission, the angel started to ascend back to heaven, when Colette suddenly called him back "Oh! Please wait!"
The angel didn't and continued to rise.
"I have a question to ask of you." Colette seemed to hesitate "Are you… my real father?" She asked anyway full of hope.
"First, you will head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? I will see you again." Remiel said with another creepy smile "My beloved daughter Colette."
Colette seemed taken aback by the answer "W-wait! Father..." she trailed off. But Remiel continued to ascend his final words being: "Do not worry, Colette. I shall see you again at the Seal of Fire."
That was it. The angel was gone. But Luke, was still staring at the space Remiel once was. In the end Lloyd had to snap his fingers infront of the redheads face "Hey Luke, are you okay?"
Blushing slightly, Luke fumbled his words "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just … wow. Seeing an angel is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm amazed I was able to see one."
Lloyd agreed before going to join Colette and Genis.
There was an excited buzz in the air, the feeling of something great commencing, that was subsequently killed by Kratos "The Chosen has received the Oracle. We're done here."
"Oh, right." Colette trailed off, looking down.
Kratos just walked towards the teleporter. "I'll go on ahead. Luke, you stay with the Chosen." The mercenary ordered before vanishing.
Luke shrugged, Kratos would be Kratos. The redhead turned to Colette, "Do you want to go? Or do you want to stay here bit more? I know Raine looks like she does."
The earned a small giggle from the young Chosen "It's okay. Let's go home." She turned to Lloyd and Genis, who had been actively avoiding getting in Raine's way, "Thank you, both of you. Can you guys meet me at my house later?"
"Yeah." Lloyd replied with a smile
"No problem." Genis agreed
With Colette smiling again, and the three boys ready, the group decided they could leave. Then they remembered Raine again, somehow they had blocked out her mumbling.
Luke looked towards Genis and Lloyd, questioning what to do, both boys shook their heads vigorously. They weren't going to ruin her fun. And the replica wasn't mean enough to ask Colette even though she would probably come out fine. Why was he even scared of Raine? He only knew her for a week! He had faced worse things before, one of those happened to be Jade! He grabbed every shred of courage he could find, ignored Lorelei's laughing and went up to Raine.
"Are you coming with us?"
The professor suddenly looked up. "I apologise, but I will stay here a little longer. I need to check how the priests are doing."
"You just want to study the temple more." Genis mumbled. Which in hindsight was a very bad idea, but Genis was 12. And though he was very smart in some aspects, in others he was very, very dumb.
Raine glared at him "Genis! Human life to me is more important to me than some ruins. That is not only an insult to me, it is an insult to the priests wounded or killed by the Desians. Don't let me ever hear you say something like that again!" The older elf scolded him harshly, the anger left her eyes when she turned to the other three who were expect a lecture themselves. "Don't worry about me. I should be back before nightfall."
Lloyd, Colette and Luke nodded, dragging Genis with them to the teleporter.
Getting back to the village was simple, monsters seemed to be non-existent. Lloyd, Colette and Genis were all talking, whilst Luke was deep in thought;
Luke, I'm beginning to have some doubts about Cruxis.
'What do you mean? You were the one who suggested that we ask Cruxis if they could help us return to our world.'
I'm not sure. For one thing, there aren't any records of what happens exactly happens when the Chosen becomes an angel. Not only that but Remiel gave off an odd vibe, as if he had secondary motives.
'Then what else am I supposed to do? I promised Colette I would help her. I can't give up now!'
I never said anything about giving up. What I am saying is to be a little cautious, especially when it comes to Cruxis.
Our quartet of heroes made it back to Iselia without any real problems. Monsters were nothing when compared to Desians for Lloyd. If he could beat them he could beat anything! He was about to turn to Colette and say how cool it was that they were going to travel together, and go on a grand adventure for maybe close to the 1000th time, when he noticed her talking to Luke, about telling everyone about the successful Oracle. This annoyed Lloyd. Why did Colette turn directly to Luke? It wasn't as if he wasn't a part of the Journey too. The swordsman then noticed Luke agreeing with Colette, deciding he had had enough, he decided to butt in.
"Hey! Can't we come too!"
Next to him, Genis sighed "Lloyd, we'd probably get shooed out anyway. Why should we even bother?"
But the dual-swordsman was not giving up and continued to pester the redhead till he finally gave up. "Fine alright, you two can come." He sighed, Lloyd's face brightened up instantly, while Genis shook his head.
"On one condition," Luke continued and Lloyd's face instantly fell "Give us the Sorcerer's Ring before we forget, wouldn't want you to burn your shoes again."
"That was an accident!" he protested, before handing the ring over, "Fine, here you go Colette."
Though as he might, he couldn't really hide his excitement. His good mood was ruined once again, because Kratos was there. As well as Phaidra, Frank and the mayor.
The older woman smiled sweetly as the group walked in "You're all back! Please come sit down."
After all that running and fighting, sitting down did seem like heaven.
"Did any of you have trouble getting back to the village?" Kratos questioned the four.
Luke smiled, "Nothing we couldn't handle!"
Content with the answer, the mercenary nodded. He had filled his daily quota of social interaction for the day apparently.
Lloyd wasn't interested in the small talk however, "Hey, were you guys talking about the Journey of Regeneration just now?"
"Yes." Phaidra nodded, making Lloyds excitement grow even more.
"Awesome! I wanna go too! I wanna see Colette regenerate the world!"
Genis got caught up in his friends enthusiasm "If Raine's going, then I'm going too."
"No." And once more Kratos ruined the mood for Lloyd "Like I said back at the chapel, you two would just be a burden."
And once more, Lloyd got defensive. So Luke decided to jump in. Since when was he so good at paying mediator he didn't know. "I'm going to put this as nicely as I can, Lloyd, Genis. As much as we'd love to have the two of you come, you are both too inexperienced." He gently tried to explain.
Then Kratos spoke again. "The battles at the Chapel were child's play compared to what the rest of the world has in store. Unless you would like to brutally die at the hands of a wild monster, stay at home." His words cut no corners as he cut away at the two boys pride.
Then the mayor stepped in "Sir Kratos and Luke are completely right. Now then, we need to discuss business here. Why don't you two go home." It wasn't an order, Luke felt sorry for the two boys but said nothing. It wasn't his place to.
Neither Genis nor Lloyd said anything as they left, as they left the only person they truly cared about. It worried Colette. Saying a quick apology she ran after her two best friends.
She wasn't gone long however, and very soon returned to her sear. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to..."
"We understand Colette." Her father reassured her.
The mayor didn't seem to care for her feelings as he continued on. "Now, onto business" he announced "Do you know when you'll be leaving Chosen?"
Luke was starting to loathe the word Chosen. Up until that point people called her Colette, now it was Chosen this, Chosen that. Reminded him of Asch saying replica. Colette was Colette not an object, she was a living being. He was determined to never call her Chosen.
Said Chosen looked down and closed her eyes, building the courage to say what she wanted to do. It was quiet and slow, but she said; "I want to leave early tomorrow."
"Wait what!?" Luke hadn't expected that.
"I don't want Lloyd and Genis to worry about me when we leave. I want to leave when they aren't in the village, or awake." Colette explained, a little sad. "Is that alright Luke?"
"Well, I think I understand." Luke lied, it was absurd to him why she wouldn't want her only two friends to see her off to save the world. "I just wasn't expecting to leave as early as tomorrow, sorry for bursting out."
"Tomorrow isn't that far away. Do you have the supplies needed for the journey prepared? And does Professor Sage know about this?" Kratos asked straight to the point.
"We do have all the necessary items ready, Sir Kratos." Frank answered "And as for Raine, she has always been able to adapt to sudden changes such as this. She should be able to pack up easily."
"If what you say is true, then I have no objections about leaving tomorrow."
"Good. I think that'll do for now; we have seemed to have made all the necessary arrangements. We'll see you off tomorrow morning Chosen." The Mayor added, seeming very pleased with himself even though he did absolutely nothing.
His words seemed to be the conclusion of the meeting as the Mayor stood up to leave. Kratos quickly followed suit. Luke planned on doing doing the same when Colette's father called out to him: "Luke, can I talk to you for a second?"
The redhead was surprised as he stopped "Yeah, sure. What's up?"
"Since Colette is leaving tomorrow, could you sleep at the inn tonight? It would be easier to leave without waking Lloyd." Frank explained.
It made sense. It would be rather stupid if he incidently woke Lloyd up, who then ran to get Genis, who would most probably want to come along... Oh, that's why Colette didn't want the two to come. "Yeah, I can do that. Just let me get my stuff and eat dinner at Dirks first. They are expecting me."
Frank did disagree, so Luke finally left Colette's house and headed straight to the dwarfs house. Our young replica didn't expect to meet anyone on the way, especially a familiar brunet in red clothing.
"Hey Lloyd!" Luke called out, and again the unexpected happened as the young swordsman jumped at his voice and drew his swords prepared to strike, quickly calming down when he saw it was just Luke.
"Wow you're slow! I thought you'd be at Dirk's house by now." The redhead teased.
Lloyd grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, well, Genis and I got, uh, … caught up in something's... Yeah!..." he quickly trailed off.
It was like that time when Guy broke a vase that his mother had loved. Getting the story out was hard.
"Alright, what did you two do?" Luke asked folding his arms and standing straighter, embracing his inner noble.
"Okay fine!" Lloyd snapped "We went to visit a friend of Genis'"
It couldn't be the whole truth, otherwise he would have come out with it. Unless it was something really important, like Genis going to see a crush with Lloyd as his wingman. No that couldn't be it, Lloyd would be a terrible wingman. Luke decided to let it slide, it wasn't really any of his business. "See? Was that so hard?" Luke teased again
"No. Can we go back now?" Lloyd grumbled, pushing past the redhead without waiting for an answer.
The two boys got to Dirk's house very quickly afterwards, as soon as they got inside, Lloyd rushed over to his father, asking him to make a "Keycrest" for someone who he would not name.
"You said that an exsphere without a keycrest is bad for you, right? Or is it too late for her now?" Lloyd explained, Luke still understanding nothing.
"What is an exsphere?" he asked innocently
Both father and son looked away from each other remembering they had a guest, Dirk knew Lloyd was terrible with explanations, so he spoke instead.
"Allow me to explain Luke, if ya don't mind? Exsphere's are a sorta power amplifier that can enhance the usa's fighting capabilities to their maximum potential. Dey are also very dangerous. An exsphere is also a parasite that can drain the usa's life without proper protection. A keycrest is one of these protections, and the most common as the design makes it so the parasite doesn't reach the usa."
"So couldn't someone just remove the exsphere without a keycrest before the parasite takes control?" It seemed simple to Luke, that meant that it probably wasn't.
"Ya can't. Even removing an exsphere is dangerous." Dirk said, as he noticed his guests eyes widen, it seemed like he understood.
An exsphere did sound useful, but it sounded too much like a double-edged sword for Luke to want to use one. He was already supposed to died three times. Best not add a fourth reason to the list. Lorelei seemed to agree. But one question nagged at Luke, "Lloyd, how did your friend get an exsphere?"
The room was silent. Lloyd looked like a giant stampede of angry rappigs was running towards him, and Dirk was said angry stampede, scowling hard enough to give Luke spine's a chill, even if he wasn't the centre of attention.
"W-well, you see..." Lloyd started, but didn't finish. Dirk was very angry.
"You went to the Human Ranch didn't you?" the dwarfs voice was low, a rumble announcing the storm to come. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah, me and Genis went to see a prisoner there who he became friends with." Lloyd admitted.
Dirk didn't say anything , he slowly got up and walked over to Lloyd and punched his son in the gut! "LLOYD! How many times 'ave I told ya to stay away from the Ranch!?"
Luke had to look away, wincing when his friend hit the ground.
"I-I know Dad, but... this person needs a keycrest!" the brunet groaned as he got up.
"Did ya let them see ya keycrest?" The dwarf asked, his voice tinged with worry, hoping that they hadn't, and Lloyd had at least learned to hide it.
"No, I made sure about that. But why is it so important to hide that thing?" Lloyd said, and Dirk was relieved. His son wasn't a complete idiot after all.
"You have an exsphere?" Luke blurted out, the other two once again remembered the redhead was there.
Lloyd looked at his father. "I trust Luke Lloyd. You can show 'im." Dirk confirmed. The dual-swordsman held out his left hand, which was wrapped in a white bandage. Lloyd ripped the bandage of with a dramatic flourish revealing a blue gem in a golden crest.
'Lorelei, is, is that an exsphere?"
Yes. I believe Kratos also had one on him as well.
'Huh? He did? I didn't notice.'
Lukes fascination caused Lloyd to smile "Yeah, that's my exsphere. I've had it for as long as I can remember. So why's it so important Dad?"
Dirked sighed at his son's question "Well, ye see, Lloyd, yer exsphere is special."
Lloyd was surprised "Special? It's different than the one the Desian's use?"
The dwarfs face fell, he seemed sad as he spoke, "That exsphere is your mothers keepsake."
Luke suddenly felt extremely out of place. He wanted to leave, but didn't want to talk, for fear of interrupting this personal moment.
"The Desians killed yer mother fer that exsphere Lloyd." Dirk continued, with pauses to let hisson digest the information, "Remember how I found ye at the cliff near the ranch?"
"Y-yeah." The young swordsman's voice was wavering.
"Yeh mother was still conscious when I got there and she explained it all. There is no doubt about it."
Lloyd stared at Dirk in disbelief, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Then he shouted: "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"
Dirk didn't even flinch, arguing back "If I 'ad, you would 'ave just gone out an' tried to take revenge on those Desians!" Though he calmed down as he continued, "A-and I didn't want to lose yeh Lloyd. Even though we ain't related by blood, you're still my son, and I ye parent."
The room became quiet again, as Dirk stared at the floor, as if unused to showing so many emotions, "Anywho, the Tower Of Salvation has jus' appeared today. Leave the rest up to Colette. It'll take care of the Desians as well."
"But still..." Lloyd tried, before his father cut him off again.
"Don't get involved with the Desians. Yer mother died tryin' to protect you and yer exsphere from 'em! Don't jus' go 'an throw yer life away along with yer exsphere! After what she did."
"... So you'll make the keycrest?"
This make Dirk snap for the second time that evening, "Didn't yah listen to anythin' I just said Lloyd?!"
And so, yet again, Lloyd got angry "Yeah! I heard you! But you can't expect me to sit down and twiddle my thumbs now that I know!"
Both side had somewhat compelling arguments, but Dirk had one thing Lloyd could never hope to match; his fist.
Luke couldn't help but notice that people liked to hit Lloyd. Lorelei thought that was why the boy was so dull in mind.
The brunet hit the floor, the punch having knocked all the air out of him so he couldn't argue back. Especially when there was a knock on the door. The redhead helped the poor boy off the floor as the dwarf answered the door.
"Ah, no worries! Come on in and make yourselves at home!" the gruff man said as if he hadn't had an argument with his son and punched him twice.
Standing in the doorway were Kratos, Colette Raine, and Genis, much to the two boys surprise. Once everyone was sitting down, Lloyd feeling rather self-conscious spoke up "So, uh, did you guys hear, all that when you were in the yard?" he asked awkwardly.
"Yes, most of it." Raine answered plainly. Luke could have sworn she was staring at him again.
Genis was staring into his lap, an apologetic look on his face "Lloyd, I'm sorry. It's all my fault..."
"It's okay I don't blame you." The youngest swordsman interrupted
After a small awkward silence, Raine spoke up "Lloyd, you should speak with Colette. Privately. We'll wait for you when you're done." She 'suggested'
At this Colette seemed a little nervous "Lloyd , I'll talk to you on the terrace, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Can you wait a minute though?" He was a little nervous as well it seemed.
Her smile fell a little "Of course. I'll wait at the bench."
"While they're up there an' talkin', feel free to wander around a bit." Dirk told everyone. And so, Kratos, Genis, and Raine went outside, followed by Lloyd. Luke on the other hand snuck up, well, he didn't have to sneaky about it, but he did anyway, to Lloyd's room to pack up his stuff. Which actually wasn't a lot.
Outside Colette was still sitting alone on the bench staring up at the night sky waiting for Lloyd. She was so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed the redhead approach.
A grin on his face, his leaned down and whispered " Hey Colette."
The young Chosen whipped around in surprise, before calming down seeing Luke. "Oh, hello Luke." she said, as she turned back to watching the stars.
"So big day tomorrow huh?" the young noble said, trying to start a conversation as he sat down next to Colette
"Yes, all of my training will finally be put to use. I can save Sylvarant!" she said happily. Seeing her happy made Luke smile.
A comfortable silence fell over the two of them, Colette continued to stare at the stars whilst Luke stared at the people down below. Raine and Genis were in the middle of a discussion he couldn't hear. To their left, Kratos and Lloyd were looking over a gravestone. It probably belonged to Lloyd's mother. Wanting to forget the argument he heard earlier, Luke turned back to the stars as well. They were bright and twinkled in the night. He had heard stories of other worlds in the night sky, maybe he could see Aulderant. He stared intently, until Colette brought him back down to Sylvarant.
"Excuse me Luke?" she asked, her voice soft and quiet, "If it's not too much of a bother, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead. Shoot."
At his words, the young Chosen frowned. "Shoot? But I don't have a bow..."
"Never mind." He quickly waved off. Her and Lloyd were a pair. "What did you want to ask?"
"I haven't really had time to ask, but how much do you know about Martel?" Colette asked innocently, yet it still caught Luke off guard.
"Well, not much in all honesty. I know the basics, but I never really had the time to go to Church, both now and when I was a kid. I don't know much about the Journey of Regeneration, but I'm sure it'll be a nice learning experience, if anything else. Don't worry Colette; I'll help you through to the end!" He answered truthfully.
Colette's expression changed to one Luke couldn't read briefly, before she smiled and thanked the older boy. Though, something in her words sounded faked and forced. He couldn't question it however, because footsteps could be heard behind them. Both turned around to see Lloyd standing there with a grin.
Luke left the two knowing Colette wanted to have one last moment with her best friend before she had to leave. Whilst he was downstairs, Luke told Dirk of his plans. The dwarf reassured the young noble that he would help. He knew Lloyd would most probably be in Dirk's workshop making a present for Colette. Luke thanked him, but Dirk brushed it off with Dwarven Vows and the like. The redhead exited he building and walked towards Raine and Kratos who were standing in front of the grave.
"Are you prepared for tomorrow Luke?" Raine asked. Kratos said nothing. As usual.
"Yeah. I didn't have a lot on me when I came to Iselia, so I didn't have a lot to pack." Luke explained.
"Good, we'll leave at 9 tomorrow morning from the southern gate. From then on, we'll travel south-west towards the Triet Desert, into Triet, the town closest to the Seal of Fire. Did you get all that?" Raine lectured Luke. If before he had any doubts she was a teacher, they were gone now. It was like listening to one of his tutors. If he could be bothered to listen.
"Yeah, I got it." Luke waved off.
Nobody said anything, so Luke let his eyes wander on the grave. He had been there for a week and never took the time to actually look.
HERE LIES ANNA. MAY SHE REST IN PIECE
"Who is this for?" he asked, though he already had an idea.
Raine looked away, while Kratos seemed to grimace. "It's the grave of Lloyd's mother. I assume Dirk told you everything."
"Yes, he told me. Though not directly." Luke explained, before paying his respects. "I need to stay here until Lloyd is asleep or working on Colette's present.
Raine sighed as she put a hand to her forehead, "Of course he would forget her present. I knew I should have reminded him earlier." In spite of herself, she was smiling. "Colette, Genis! It's getting late! We need to get back to the village!"
Colette stopped talking to Lloyd on the balcony with a start. "Okay, I'm coming!" She called back before going inside and reappearing with Genis.
Everyone said their goodbyes, the journey ahead drawing ever closer. As was the plan, once he heard Lloyd working away, with Dirk reassuring that he would be working all night and promptly fall asleep in the workshop, Luke crept away. With one final goodbye he left the woodland house as he made his way to Iselia. One step closer to getting home.