Ruler of the Abyss: Wow. Thanx for the review. I'm glad you like the story. I guess this is a day early, but I had it typed up so I figured I'd post it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.
Slowly, Kratos turned and left Triet behind him. His mother walked on one side of him while Mark, one of the Iselians walked on the other. The other two survivors of Iselia had decided to stay in Triet. With Kratos leading, the three hoped to arrive at Ymir Forest within a few weeks. How long it would take to pass through the forest and to gain entry into the city of Heimdall was a different matter altogether.
"So how do you plan on finding your way through Ymir, young Kratos?" Mark asked as the desert wind whipped his long, shoulder-length, blue hair across his plain face, momentarily covering his deep blue eyes.
"I leave that to the elves. It is said that when they sense that someone lost in the forest, they search their souls. Those with hostile intents are led out, while those who mean them no harm are guided by them."
"Those are only rumors. You will trust your life to them?"
"Yes. They are all that I have to guide me. I will risk my life on them, in order to give my mother's life a chance to continue."
"Very admirable. Your care for others and optimism is a quality that you should cherish. Never let anyone take it away from you."
"…" Not knowing how to reply, Kratos remained silent.
"I happen to have gone to Heimdall once before. The Sylvarant kingdom sent me to try and discuss an alliance with the elves. They didn't take the idea well, but were courteous. What you have heard isn't the truth."
"…" Surprise filled Kratos, but he decided to remain silent and let the man continue.
"When someone enters the Ymir Forest, they are most likely already being followed by the elves. They observe and decide whether or not they can trust the person. If they find them dangerous, they kill them. If they find them to be worthy, they take them to their city. Those who they cannot come to a decision about end up wandering around lost. They usually die in there. After all, the elves live for about a thousand years. To them, time matters little. In what seems to them like an insignificant amount of time can cause one of us to grow old and die.
"You will get to see what I mean if and when we get to meet them. Never pressure them to hurry, for they feel insulted by it. They will often take their time about doing things, but if they give their word, they stick by it. There are many other things that you ought to know as well. I'll tell them to you as we go."
Kratos slid his foot forward, sending sand flying into the robber's eyes. Taking the open chance, he dashed forward and swung his sword, intending to split him in half. Before it made contact, however, the bandit's friend stuck his knife in from the side and blocked the boy's attack. Mark took the chance to strike at the first bandit's open back with his double-bladed sword. As Kratos spun his sword in a spiral having disarmed his opponent of his dagger, the other bandit fell to the hot sand with a cut across his back. His friend turned and ran. The two warriors let him leave, not wanting to harm when unnecessary.
As the threat left, Maria Aurion came closer to Mark. She had trained for a short while in the arts of healing while she was in Triet, and she had seen the Iselian take a cut across his arm. When she arrived in front of him, however, he backed away.
"Come on, Mark. Show me your arm; I'll bandage it up for you."
"Oh, okay. Fine." Quickly, he held his hand behind his back before he brought it out to her.
Maria brought out her salve and bandages as Mark sat down and uncovered his arm. A gash lay open down the length of it, blood slowly flowing from it. Kratos' mother bandaged it up, silently noting that the arm that had been injured in the battle had been the other one.
Soon, the three were walking again. The weather wasn't as severe anymore and small patches of grass could be seen as they finally neared the end of the desert. With the supplies they had brought from the city with them, the journey had been much easier than the previous one. As they continued on, Kratos slowly fell a little farther back to walk beside his mother, allowing Mark to lead the path ahead. His eyes glanced on the long double-blade that Mark kept strapped to his back to find that it had two bloody points though he had only struck once. The young boy noticed that his mother was also staring at the same spectacle and decided not to comment.
"Well, another thing to worry about the elves is that you don't insult them," Mark continued his advice to Kratos. They had taken a rest during the time when the sun was at its zenith, preferring to travel in the cooler air of the afternoon. "Elves tend to be very picky about their honor. They have many codes, and if you break any of their unspoken rules, they tend to hate you for them. Some of them make sense, such as not harming any of them, but others seem rather pointless. I'll tell you about these sometime later."
Kratos noticed why Mark had stopped talking to him. Ahead, two large bears approached them. This surprised the young boy; these creatures should not be living so close to the desert. Only then did he realize how far from the arid land they had traveled. The land was green, covered in grass. Beside them, large mountains rose, covered in green vines. They had entered the Ossa-Lathorean Pass. It was the easiest way through the mountains east of the Triet desert. They would now descend into a deep gorge bounded by waterfalls: the Lathorean Gorge. After rising out of that, they would have to hike up a path known as the Ossa Trail.
For now, they would fight. Maria fell back as her son dashed past her, drawing his sword in a blur of speed. Mark drew his long weapon, holding it as his side, slowly coming forward. A loud roar announced success as Kratos slid down one of the animals' backs, leaving behind an open, bleeding wound. The creature turned around, swiping horizontally with its large paws. Having anticipated the move, the young boy ducked quickly. What he hadn't anticipated was that the second bear would swipe its claws at him vertically down immediately afterwards.
Mark dashed in as Kratos was slammed into the ground. He spun his double-blade around in a spiral, sending excruciating pain through the bear as one of its arms was given three long gashes. Mark noticed the other bear going for the young Iselian and dashed after it. He distracted it by sticking his weapon straight through its back, stabbing hard and then yanking it back out. As blood spurted from the open wound, Mark turned to face the other creature.
Kratos shook the dizziness from his head and sat up. The bear had caught him off guard. Turning back to the battle, he found Mark being attacked by only one bear; the other lay dying. The living bear raised one of its paws, poised to smash down. As Mark raised his blade to parry, it suddenly lunged forward, slamming its other paw directly into the Iselin's stomach. Seeing Mark double over and drop his weapon, Kratos rushed forward. As he dove at the bear with his sword raised, he barely registered a white light close to Mark out of the corner of his eyes.
With a single blow, the battle was over. As both bears lay dead, Maria came towards the warriors. While Kratos was still feeling unsteady due to the blow he had taken, Mark seemed as if he had never been hit. Still, Maria bandaged up both of them before their trio continued on its way.
"Is there anything else that is important that I should know about the elves, Mark?" Kratos inquired, gingerly picking his way over the rocks covering the Ossa Trail. His feet were covered in bee stings and were paining him greatly despite the salve that his mother had lathered onto them.
"Well, another thing that you should be aware of is that they hate it when you lie to them. They are very perceptive and can tell almost immediately if you are not telling the truth. However, it is not wise to always tell them everything. What you must do is tell only as much of the truth as they demand. To withhold information that they have requested is folly and so is giving them more than what they have asked for." Mark seemed to be doing fine. He could somehow find the smoothest path around the boulders placed on the path. The animals also seemed to somehow hurt him else, although he did sport his share of bee stings, Kratos had noted with smug satisfaction.
"Another matter to note is their utter hatred of half-elves. We of Iselia never dealt with them so you probably hadn't noticed, but they are left out of both, the human and the elven societies. To be a half-elf is to be disgraced for life, and the elves seem to carry this hatred greater than the humans."
"Why?" Kratos interjected. "What is wrong with being a half-elf?"
"As the elves put it, the half-elves carry the power of the elves and the folly of the humans. Humans, while foolish, do not have the power to change the world, and thus they do not matter. The elves, while they have the power to change the world, they are wise and can control themselves. The half-elves, however, have the folly of the humans and the power of the humans, leading them to be dangerous.
"The real matter, however, is different. As I learned while I stayed with the elves, they hate humans. The humans in return hate the elves. Both do this because they are different from one another. A half-elf is an abomination. To the elves, the human blood taints them and dirties them even beyond a human, and vice versa. It is a very irrational hatred that should be removed, but is held tight by both the humans and the elves."
Mark's face seemed to be etched in hatred. He broke off and sped up, walking a little farther ahead of Kratos. After a short while, however, he slowed down and let the young boy come beside him again.
"We are almost at the elven forest, Kratos. I have been with the elves before, and my stay did not go well. I ask that you go on alone with your mother. They hold a grudge against me, but not against you two; for me to come with you would only be a hindrance."
Before Kratos could complain, they had left the mountain trail. As soon as they crossed the final bend in the trail, they saw a spectacle before them. Magical blasts raged across the open expanse in front of the Ymir Forest. Weapons gleamed in the midday light as they sought blood. The armies of Sylvarant and Tethealla were waging a battle.
"Quick, Kratos, you must head for the forest. Do not be seen, for either side would see you as a spy for the other. Run, now!"
Together, the three headed for the sanctuary of the leafy shade. As they neared it, one of the fighters from the battlefield noticed them. He broke off and headed at them. His black armor gleamed in the sunlight, noting him as being from Sylvarant.
Before Kratos could turn around and fight, Mark had already drawn his blade. "Kratos, get your mother to the elves. I'll handle this warrior and then get back to Triet. Make sure you complete your goal, and if the elves let you stay, then do so, for the war has never reached them. There, you will be safe. Go!"
Maria and Kratos Aurion ran towards the safety of the trees right before them. As they entered the shade and were hidden by the darkness from all those outside, Kratos turned to look back at his friend. Mark had raised his double-blade and was about to spin it across the armored knight's throat. The black warrior was faster. He stuck his sword quickly into his opponent's stomach.
Tears sprang to Kratos' eyes as he stared at Mark going limp. As the sword was pulled out, both friends fell to their knees, one in pain and one in anger. Before the young boy could draw his sword and rush for vengeance, his mother grabbed him tightly. She pulled him around and urged him farther into the forest, telling him not to let Mark's sacrifice be in vain.
Poor Mark.
Anyway, make sure to read and review. Pls review and let me know if I'm contrary to the anything said in the game because it's been a year since I played it. Also let me know if I have any grammer or spelling mistakes and I'll try to fix them.
Thanx for reading.