There. I updated much quicker this time.
The other day my boyfriend told me I apologized a lot, and I responded with, "Oh, do I? I'm sorry." I felt like Colette -.-
Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's reading this, left reviews, etc. I really appreciate it! Please enjoy!
Who was Kratos?
As we passed the few remaining hours it took to reach Palmacosta the next day, this question repeated over and over in my mind. I mean, I'd had my suspicions about him before, but I was positive that he'd been the one to cast that spell. It had to have been him- I'd seen the spell circle. It was faint, but there.
But that attack…it was so powerful. A mere human couldn't have done something like that. It almost looked like…
No, it couldn't be. There's no way it was possible, but it almost looked like an attack Lord Yggdrasill might use. Positively angelic. However, Kratos was not an angel, he was a human, so therefore, the attack was impossible.
Argh! But it was him! I know it was! I saw it!
…This is pretty much the mental argument I continued to have with myself. I just didn't get it. Something was off about Kratos, and I was going to find out even if it killed me!
"We're here!"
Max's announcement snapped me out of my daze and I looked around. It was true- we had just pulled into the Palmacosta port, and from what I could see, it was a beautiful town. All cobblestone streets and rivers and bridges, surrounded by the glistening ocean- the water was so blue and picturesque I was momentarily put in a daze again.
As Max put down the gangplank so we could get off and onto the dock, Lloyd turned to him.
"Thanks Max. What are you going to do now?"
Max shrugged as he set the wooden board into place. "I'll request an escort from a Palmacosta warship or something…well, take care."
"But are you sure you'll be alright?" I asked worriedly as the others started onto the dock. "I mean, with all those monsters…"
"I think that weird light took care of most of them. Thanks anyways, Aurelia. It was good meeting you."
"Likewise, Max." I hopped off the edge of the gangplank.
"Sorry for making you take us all the way out here," said Lloyd. "Be careful on your way back."
"You too," said Max, and with that, he returned to his ship.
"Okay," Lloyd continued. "Let's go look for clues about the next seal."
We started down the street, all of us keeping our ears open towards conversation to see if we could find out anything about the seal's location. Mostly all we heard though was shopkeepers haggling with customers and whatnot.
As we were turning a corner, Colette ran straight into another woman who was carrying a bottle filled with some dark purple liquid. It went crashing to the ground and the glass shattered, the contents spilling everywhere.
"…there she goes again," said Genis with a sigh.
"Oww!" the woman exclaimed. "What did you do that for?" I then noticed that there were two men behind her both looking angrily at Colette, as well as a rather calm looking woman.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Colette cringed.
"Ahh!" the woman shrieked as she took in the shattered potion. "The Palma Potion we just received!"
"Hey lady, that was a very valuable potion!" one of the men snarled. "How are you planning on making up for this?"
"I'll buy a replacement potion right away!" she promised.
"…'replacement potion'?" he repeated in outrage. "Do you seriously think that's going to be enough to appease my anger?"
"Appease his anger"? Who did this guy think he was?
"Oh come on," said Lloyd with an eye roll. "Now you just sound like an idiot." I had to agree.
"What. Did. You. Say?" the man said through gritted teeth. "Do you know who we are?"
"And I should care because…?"
Here he goes again. This was like that Desian base all over again.
"Why you little-!"
"Stop," the calm woman said quietly. "I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. Don't start any unnecessary trouble."
"I agree," said the other woman. "Let's just have them replace the potion."
"Bah," the man scoffed. "You got off lucky this time, kid. Hurry up and go buy that potion."
"There's no need to bother, Colette!" said Lloyd.
"Seriously," I agreed. "They're being totally unreasonable about-"
"No, I ran into them," said Colette reluctantly, "so I have to pay for it…"
"…fine, all right," he grumbled.
"Let's find the item shop then," said Genis. He didn't look too happy about giving these jerks what they wanted.
We crossed over a bridge and passed by only a few buildings before we found a shop with a sign labeled "Marble's Tool Shop". We figured this must be it, so we entered…
…and I immediately wanted to turn around and leave. Two Desian soldiers stood arguing with a young girl who had brown hair pulled high into a ponytail and a fierce expression. An older woman who I assumed to be her mother stood nearby with a horrified look on her face.
Desians! Not good, not good, not good!
"Oh please!" the girl scoffed. "There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price so low."
"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this," one of the Desians sneered. It was like a slap in the face to see a Desian be so rude to someone, but I guess it was something I was going to have to get used to.
"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians!" she said defiantly. Wow, she and Lloyd could be twins. "I'm not going to sell one single gel to the likes of you."
"Chocolat, stop!" her mother pleaded.
The girl, Chocolat, whirled around to face her mother. "But Mom, these are the same monsters that took Grandma away!"
Monsters… I squirmed uncomfortably where I stood.
"You've got some nerve talking like that to us, little girl! You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city."
"Just try it! As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit to the likes of you!"
He moved like he was going to strike at her, taking his whip from his belt. "You little-!"
"Stop!" the other Desian exclaimed. He grabbed the other's arm. "We'll exceed our quota for this year. We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further."
He returned his whip to his belt. "Humph."
The second Desian turned to Chocolat. "Depending on Lord Magnius' mood, you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours!"
The two turned and shoved past us. I hid behind Kratos instinctively, but quickly jumped away when I realized what I was doing, and when he gave me a bizarre look.
Chocolat was acting like nothing had even happened. She barely even looked at us as she grabbed her bag and said, "Well then, I'm off to work now, Mom."
"Take care," her mother said.
Chocolat flounced past us without so much as a glance.
The older woman sighed deeply and looked at us. "I apologize for what happened. I'm sure you were startled."
Startled would be one word for how I felt about that.
"Please, relax and take a look around."
We all spread out as much as we could throughout the cozy shop and searched for some Palma Potion, myself more than a bit shaken. I continued to stare blankly at the same one spot on the shelf in front of me.
That had been…those Desians were…I mean, the group had told me that Desians were evil, but to see it firsthand…I was finding it a bit difficult to handle at the moment.
"Can I help you find anything, dear?"
It took a moment for me to realize that the woman was talking to me. "Oh um, yes, we're looking for Palma Potion."
"Ahh, yes. Sorry, I keep it behind the counter." She reached down and set a bottle on the countertop. "The bottles are very breakable."
"No kidding," Genis muttered.
"If that is everything the total is 1000 gald."
"1000 gald?" Lloyd exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"
"It's quite fine," said Kratos calmly. He handed the woman the money. "Pay him no mind." He took the potion from the woman and we exited the shop. We headed past all of the shops and back over the bridge to the inn where the people from earlier (who I'd just now noticed were all dressed in battle gear) waited rather impatiently for us.
Lloyd took the potion from Kratos and grudgingly handed it over to the loud-mouthed man. "…here."
The man inspected it to make sure it was alright and then handed it to the woman who had been carrying it before. "All right then. Looks like you're good little boys and girls after all. Just make sure you learn your lesson and don't mess with us again."
"Yes, I'll be careful," said Colette, who remained oblivious to the bewildered and annoyed stares Lloyd was giving her.
"Come on, we're leaving!" the calm woman announced.
The angry woman turned around. "I have to say, that Governor-General Dorr sure was trusting. It's hard to believe he just gave us his family treasure like that."
Oh great, so they'd been mooching off of other people too.
"So what are we going to do with that anyway?" the other man, who hadn't spoken yet, asked meekly.
"You're an idiot," the first man snapped. "We don't have any use for that thing. We're just going to sell it to that geezer on Hakonesia Peak who collects old junk."
"Now let's go!" the first woman urged, and the group went on their way.
"Hehe, sorry for getting us in trouble," Colette giggled.
"…those guys kinda piss me off," said Lloyd.
"You're not the only one," I said irritably.
"Oh yeah!" Colette suddenly exclaimed and whirled to face me. "Aurelia, what are you going to do?"
"What am I going to…?" I trailed off when I realized what she meant. Even I'd forgotten- I needed to decide whether I was staying or leaving. "Oh. Right."
"What's going on?" asked Raine. Oh yeah, that's right. Raine hadn't been a part of my little interrogation squad. She probably had no clue what was going on. Lloyd briefly filled her in on what had happened.
"Ahh, I see. Well Aurelia, we'd appreciate your continued help, but we'll respect your decision either way."
"Like hell we will!" Lloyd shouted. "Aurelia, you better stay!"
I gave a small laugh at that. Look at all of them, my inner voice told me. How could you leave even if you wanted to?
I had to admit, this voice was right. Besides, I still had Kratos to figure out. How was I going to find out what his secret was if I was wandering aimlessly around Sylvarant?
That settled it. I'd been stupid to think leaving was a good idea, especially now that all of my reasons for joining were coming back to me.
"Alright," I said in defeat. "I can't say no to Lloyd the Terrifying. I'll stay."
"Oh, yay!" Colette cheered, hugging me tightly.
"Not to break up the moment, but we need to be going," Kratos said bluntly.
"I must agree," said Raine. "Although we're happy you'll be staying with us."
I squirmed out of Colette's embrace. "Thanks. Let's go clue-hunting, shall we?"
We headed back over the bridge that headed towards the shops, deeper into the city. Clue-hunting was harder than I thought it would be, because even if we did ask where something like a seal might be, what kind of average person would know something like that?
Eventually we reached a large plaza that was bustling with life. I noticed this is where the Palmacosta Academy was located, as well as the Church of Martel Cathedral and a big office-like building, probably where the town's leader resided.
"Governor-General Dorr!"
The voice had come from a little boy, and he spoke to a tall, impressive-looking man with blond hair. A little girl with curly blond pigtails and a purple dress stood beside him. It could have been his daughter.
The boy continued to speak. "Dad was taken away to the ranch and hasn't come back. Even though I've been a good boy!"
The man, who I know knew to be Dorr, looked sadly down at the boy. "Hang on just a little longer. I promised, remember? I'll save everyone who's been taken away to the ranch."
"But…I'm lonely…" The boy was on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry," the little girl said. "Father is a friend of everyone in this city. My mother died of an illness, but your father should still be alive. I'm sure he'll come back."
"…really?" he sniffed.
"Yes," said Dorr. "They were all taken away because they fought back against Desians. I swear I'll rescue them."
"Okay, I'll wait for Dad to come back."
"Good boy," Dorr said with a smile. He looked down at his daughter. "Let's go Kilia."
"Yes father." The two walked away from the boy in the direction of the office building.
That whole exchange had left a heavy feeling in my gut. Before reaching Palmacosta, I'd only heard about the Desians' cruelty, but it seemed like reaching this city had thrust us into the chaos with no preparation at all. I should've been glad that I was seeing the truth, I suppose, but I could only feel horror. Guilt.
"Who was that?" Lloyd asked, assumedly talking about Dorr.
An old man who had been speaking with a woman nearby turned to Lloyd. "Governor-General Dorr. He's recruiting soldiers and resisting the Desians. He's a wonderful man."
"After losing his wife to an illness, he's raised his daughter Kilia all by himself…" the woman added.
"As long as Governor-General Dorr is here, we won't submit to the Desians. Even if we're carried off to the ranch, Dorr will come and save us. We believe in him."
"The people of this city are all so strong," Colette said in wonder.
Lloyd nodded is head in agreement. "That Dorr person must be a great man."
"They sure are brave," said Genis.
"Yeah," said Lloyd. "I mean, they're facing up to the Desians. Not a lot of people are brave enough to do that."
"I wish I could show this to the people of Iselia."
"It sounds like that person called Dorr is doing a good job of leading them," Colette chimed in.
"If he's the leader, he may know something about the seal, right?" I suggested.
"Yes," said Raine. "We should speak with him first. Genis-" She cut off because he was no longer paying attention. He stared longingly in the direction of the Palmacosta Academy. He almost looked…sad.
"Well come on, let's go!" said Lloyd, following after Kratos to the office building.
"Genis, you don't look well," Colette noted. "Are you okay?"
"Ah, sorry." He gave the school one long, last look before looking at Raine, Colette and I. "I was just thinking about how I was supposed to go to that school and, well, you know."
"It's too bad," said Raine sympathetically. "You really wanted to study, didn't you?"
"You were supposed to go there, Genis?" I asked in surprise. I'd only told Max that because, it was reasonable enough. Genis was a smart kid. I found it kind of funny that it had turned out being half true, but I was hardly going to laugh. Genis looked really sad about it.
"Yeah, but it's okay…" he said. "Participating in world regeneration isn't exactly something everyone gets to do."
"I'm sorry for getting you mixed up in something like this," Colette said sadly.
"What are you talking about?" asked Genis. This had seemed to snap him out of it a little. "Lloyd and I are just tagging along. You don't have to worry about us."
This seemed to reassure her. "Thanks, Genis."
"Uh, um, don't tell Lloyd about this, okay?" he said quickly. "He's already burdened enough with what happened at the village…I don't want him to feel responsible for me, too."
"Yes, I understand," said Raine.
I nodded. "Don't worry, Genis, we won't tell."
He smiled. "Thanks guys."
"Hey what's the holdup?" Lloyd shouted from across the plaza. "Hurry it up!"
We all seemed to sigh at the same time and headed across the plaza to join Lloyd and Kratos, who both waited for us at the door to the office.
"Jeez guy, it's about time," Lloyd said impatiently. "We gotta talk to this Dorr guy!"
We entered the building and I saw that it was, in fact, an office. Dorr sat behind a large, curved desk, with Kilia standing by his side. Another man (who was quite handsome, I might add) stood behind him holding a clipboard. He stood as we entered in a gesture of welcome.
"Greetings, travelers!" he said. "We welcome travelers, as per the teachings of Martel. May the blessing of Martel be upon those who journey. By the way, may I ask where you are from? Are you on a pilgrimage for Martel?" Wow, this guy sure liked to talk about Martel.
"Ah, we come from Iselia," Lloyd replied. "We're on the journey for world regeneration."
I knew it was a mistake the moment it left his mouth. Dorr tensed and exchanged a look with the man standing behind him. Something was wrong.
"'World regeneration…?'" Dorr repeated suspiciously.
"Colette here is the Chosen of Mana," said Genis. He gestured to her. "The Tower of Salvation appeared, right?"
"Are you saying that you are the Chosen?" Dorr asked slowly.
"Ah, um, yes," said Colette nervously. "It seems that way, anyway."
"Governor-General Dorr…" the other man said warningly.
Dorr looked back at him. "Yes, Neil…" He turned to us and we were all surprised to see his face filled with anger. "The Chosen was just here a few moments ago! How dare you defile that name! These despicable criminals must be arrested and turned over to the church at once!"
Things really got chaotic then. A group of armored guards came barreling in, trying to restrain us all. Lloyd was yelling and cursing and fighting back, and through all the commotion, of course Colette managed to trip. But as she did, her sparkling pink wings unfolded from her back and everyone stopped fighting to stare at her.
"Wow!" Kilia exclaimed in delight. "Father, did you see? She has wings! She's like an angel! They're beautiful!"
"W-Wait!" Neil ordered. "Everyone, lower your weapons! This person before us is without a doubt the Chosen of Mana!"
I shook my arm free of the guard's iron grip, and he, along with the others, left the room.
"There is no mistaking the angel wings that are on your back!" Neil continued to Colette. "Please forgive our insolence, Chosen One." He bowed his head in respect.
Colette looked uncomfortable at this. "Ah, um, please, it's okay. Um, um…it's all right, really. Everyone tells me I'm not very Chosen-like at all."
They should be apologizing though, I thought, rolling my eyes. They almost just arrested the Chosen!
Dorr seemed to have realized something, though. A slightly panicked expression was working its way across his face. "But this means…the Chosen we gave the Book of Regeneration to was an imposter?
"Wait a minute," said Lloyd confusedly. "You said something about the Chosen coming here already. What is the Book of Regeneration? What's going on?"
"The Book of Regeneration is a record of Spiritua's journey," Neil explained. Spiritua…she was the first Chosen to succeed in Sylvarant if I wasn't mistaken. "It is the only document containing detailed records of the world regeneration, and it is a precious heirloom passed down through the generations of Governor-Generals of Palmacosta."
"That's it!" Genis exclaimed. "With that, we won't have any trouble finding the seals!"
"And you say you handed over this invaluable book to a random person claiming to be 'the Chosen'? Unbelievable." Raine sighed as though she couldn't even begin to comprehend their stupidity.
"Of course!" Lloyd snapped his fingers. "It must be those guys that were giving us trouble earlier!"
"How could you just give them something so valuable without even a smidge of proof it was really them?" I asked, trying not to sound too angry but this guy really was a moron.
"We had received information that the Chosen's group was headed this way," Neil replied. He couldn't meet my eyes as he did so. "So we naturally thought that they were them…"
"Are you stupid or something!" Genis fumed. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"I am terribly sorry…" said Neil quietly.
"I can't believe this!" Genis continued to rage. "Do you use your eyes at all or are they just there for decoration? You humans are-"
Raine cut him off by slapping him across the back of the head. He cried out in pain.
"Genis, that's enough!" she scolded.
Lloyd turned to Dorr. He was surprisingly calm for the situation. "You don't happen to remember the contents of the whatever-it's-called book, do you?"
"I'm afraid not," Dorr said gravely. "It is, after all, written in the language of the angels, so only members of the church can read it."
"Oh I know!" said Colette brightly. Leave it to her to stay positive at an incredibly annoying time like this. "Let's try asking at the church. Maybe the priests know something."
"That's a good idea," said Raine. "We'll ask first thing in the morning, it's getting late, now. Any objections?" No one objected, so we decided we'd go to the inn for the night and head to the church in the morning.
"You have my deepest apologies, Chosen One," said Neil. I felt kind of bad for him, despite what had happened. He seemed really embarrassed. Dorr, however, remained silent.
The next day after we were all rested (everyone being more than glad to sleep in a real bed), we headed back to the church.
When we spoke to the first pastor we saw, who stood near the altar at the front of the chapel, we were met with a warm smile. Or at least, Colette was.
"Oh, Chosen One! Do you remember me? I'm Marche. I trained as a priest at Martel Temple."
"Of course I remember you," she said kindly. "It's so nice to see you again. So you've become a pastor."
"Yes. Ever since the Tower of Salvation appeared, I have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Chosen. The legend of Spiritua will surely be of use to you."
"Spiritua gave her first sermon here, right?" she questioned.
"Yes, that is correct," said Marche. "The legend of the world regeneration from that time was written down in the Book of Regeneration and was given to the royal family. It contains a record of the location of every seal."
Which would be extremely useful, if someone hadn't given it away to imposters.
"Do you keep a record of its contents here by any chance?" Raine asked.
"No, it was not complied by the church. Would you like me to request Governor-General Dorr to show it to you?"
Lloyd groaned.
"That…won't help," said Colette. "It seems he gave the book to a group of imposters pretending to be us."
Marche's eyes widened. "That's terrible! Unfortunately, the Book of Regeneration is the only record of Spiritua's footsteps. I am sorry I could not be of help."
"N-No, it's fine. Thank-you anyway."
A hopeless, dejected air had fallen over the group. Now we were right back where we started, only now we knew that there was a group of people pretending to be the Chosen's group. Who knew what other sorts of trouble they could cause in Colette's name?
As we were heading towards the door, we noticed the girl from the item shop earlier, Chocolat. She stood behind a counter wearing a slightly bored expression, but she perked up slightly when she saw us.
"Oh, you're the ones that came to our item shop earlier, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Lloyd, and proceeded to introduce all of us."
"Well it's nice to meet all of you, and I'm sorry about what you saw earlier. I work here as a pilgrim tour guide."
"Ah, don't worry about it," he said. "But, are you going to be okay? Those guys might not hesitate to destroy this entire city…"
"You don't know anything, do you?" she said, rolling her eyes. "This area is under the control of Magnius from the eastern ranch, but just last month they reached the designated death count limit. We're safe until next year."
Death count limit? That was about all I could take. While they were busy talking to Chocolat, I slipped out the door and outside, promptly leaning over a bush and vomiting. I sunk to my knees and stayed there, Chocolat's words painting an image in my head.
All I could imagine was a line of Desians marching through the streets of this town, killing anyone who got in their way or even looked at them funny. Blood stained the streets, children were crying- how was it that I had possibly gone my whole life thinking these people were good? They had a death count limit. An actual limit of how many people they were allowed to kill. I found myself insisting that Lord Yggdrasill could never be a part of something like this. There was just no way.
But he was. He was a part of it, he was the leader, and I needed to accept it already. A lot of things had been hidden from me, plain and simple. And it was up to me to find out what they were. I needed to find out everything, in fact- what Kratos was hiding, why I was lied to, and why Remiel was leading Colette to believe she was his daughter. Also why I couldn't speak of this fact without having a coughing fit. Hopefully this journey would allow me to find out some answers.
"Aurelia, what happened?" I heard Genis asked. I turned around to find them all standing there.
"We just looked and you'd disappeared!" said Lloyd.
"S-Sorry," I told them. "It was just all of Chocolat's talk of the death count limit and whatnot and, well…"
"It was hard for you to hear," Raine finished. "That's understandable. It's pretty horrible."
I nodded. "Yes. Sorry if I worried you or anything. Um, anyways, what's next?"
"Yes, what should we do?" said Colette. "Shall we just go looking for the seals using Remiel's words as clues?"
"I think we would be better off getting hold of the Book of Regeneration," said Raine.
Genis rolled his eyes. "Raine, you know you're more interested in the book itself than in the location of the seals."
She didn't respond.
"Dammit, those guys really piss me off!" Lloyd said suddenly, although it was pretty easy to tell who he was talking about.
"You mean the imposters, right?" said Genis. "I know, I'm really mad too!"
"Right?" Lloyd exclaimed angrily. "Colette's the one trying to save the world!"
"All they're interested in is getting free things," I agreed.
"Huh?" Colette said cluelessly.
"Doesn't it make you mad, Colette?" Lloyd asked.
"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "Well, I think if there are lots of Chosens, the odds of the world being saved go up. That would be a good thing!" She smiled brightly.
Lloyd and Genis sighed in unison.
"In any case," I said. "We're going to have to get that book back, right?"
"Yeah, dammit!" said Lloyd. "It looks like we don't have any other choice but to chase after those imposters."
"But how?" Colette wondered.
"Remember what they said? They're planning on selling off the Book of Regeneration."
"Oh right," I recalled. "Some 'geezer' on Hakonesia Peak, right?"
"Off to Hakonesia Peak, then," said Raine decidedly.
"Wow Lloyd, you're amazing!" Colette gushed.
"It's only at times like this that he has a good memory," Genis jabbed.
"Shut up Genis!" he snapped. "We have to get going!"
"Well, then, let's get going," Kratos said rather impatiently. We all prepared ourselves for the journey first- replacing weapons, buying more food and medical supplies- and then started on our way to Hakonesia Peak.
We'd been walking for quite a while, and it seemed that the sun was about to sink below the horizon. So it seemed like quite the coincidence that just when we were about to stop and set up camp, we came across a caravan parked in the shelter of a group of trees.
"Hey, that thing looks familiar!" Lloyd said to Genis. "We should ask if we can stay there!"
"Lloyd," Raine chastised. "You cannot just-" But he was already running ahead with Genis close behind him.
"Those boys," she muttered, and hurried after them.
The family that had set up here consisted of a man, a woman, and seemingly their two children, a boy and a girl.
"Who are you?" the children both asked when we all approached.
"Oh, my," said the man pleasantly. "We don't get visitors very often. May I help you?"
"We were wondering if we could set up camp here for the night!" said Lloyd, oblivious to Raine's angry stares.
"Oh my," he said again. "Why of course you can! We'd enjoy the company."
"We appreciate it," said Raine. "And I apologize for his boldness."
"Yeah!" said Lloyd. "So anyways, are you on a pilgrimage Mr.…?"
"My name is Nova. We are travelling while studying the animals of the world. I'm a zoologist."
"Really? That's a weird thing to do in these dangerous times."
Raine hit Lloyd on the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"You're bringing it on yourself, Lloyd," I told him matter-of-factly.
"Travelling the world in the pursuit of knowledge…that's wonderful!" Raine said excitedly.
"I think Raine's in love," Genis snickered to me.
Nova laughed. "I just like seeing all sorts of rare animals."
"We even saw a giant glowing bird!" the little girl piped up.
"'Glowing bird'?" Lloyd repeated.
"That may have been Aska, the Summon Spirit of Light," Raine reasoned.
"Sounds like it," I agreed, to which Kratos gave me another one of his annoyingly inquisitive looks.
"Really?" said Nova. "That bird is a Summon Spirit? I see…that would explain why it's a species I've never seen before."
"Say, tell us about the time you saw it!" said Lloyd, clearly itching to hear a good story. Although, knowing him, he was probably going to get bored halfway through it.
"The information might come in handy," Genis agreed. "And besides, I want to hear the story."
"In that case, I think it would be better to ask my children," Nova told us. "I actually didn't get a good look at the bird."
"Okay, I'll try asking them," said Lloyd.
"I want to hear it too!" said Colette with a grin. "It sounds amazing."
"I'll set up camp," Kratos sighed. "It seems you will all be a while." He left to tend to this task.
Lloyd approached the boy, whose name, Nova had told us, was Alduin. "Say, tell us in detail about the time you saw the glowing bird."
"Ah it was on the Ossa Trail. We were camping out near the peak and that glowing bird appeared."
"Ossa Trail…hmm…" Lloyd thought back to when we ourselves had crossed over that path on our way to Izoold.
"Also," Alduin continued, "the wind was strong that day. A tree nearby played a mysterious melody as its nuts shook in the wind. It was like a beautiful song." He looked as though he was reminiscing about that day.
"'Tree nuts playing a mysterious melody'?" Lloyd repeated. He raised an eyebrow and gave the kid a weird look. "What the heck is that?"
"Yeah, that sounds kind of, um…odd," I said.
"That's probably the Linkite Tree that is said to grow in high places," Raine explained. Wow, how did she know all of this? "It is said that when the nuts shake in the wind, they make a beautiful sound, like bells."
"Hmm, I didn't know there was a tree like that," said Lloyd. Then a thought occurred to him. "But doesn't that mean that we can meet Aska if we just go to the Ossa Trail?"
"No, the tree isn't there anymore," Alduin said sadly. "Either someone cut it down and took it away, or it was carried away in a landslide or something."
"Yeah, we didn't see any tree like that when we went there before."
"That stump we saw near the peak might have been it," Raine recalled.
"We've travelled all over the world, but we've yet to see that tree again," Alduin finished.
Raine nodded. "That tree is thought to be extinct from over-harvesting and natural disasters. I don't think it will be easy to find."
"Let's talk to May next," said Colette. She referred to the little girl.
Lloyd, of course, was handling the questions. He seemed really eager to find out more about Aska, although I didn't really understand why. Sure, it seemed like an amazing site to see, but I didn't get why he was so fascinated with it.
"I'm going to go see if Kratos needs help," I told them, and walked over to wear Kratos had unpacked our things and was beginning supper. Although technically nothing had really happened between us, I still found there was this awkward tension between us, as if one of us knew the secret of the other and was just waiting for the other to let it slip.
"Hi," was all I said before settling down in the grass.
He nodded his head once in response, and continued chopping vegetables.
I tapped on my knees, straightened out my skirt, fixed my hair- basically fidgeted in everyway possible. There was that pressure-like feeling in the back of my throat that appears when you desperately want to say something, but either know that you shouldn't or are too nervous to. This was a combination of the two. If there was ever a time to confront Kratos, it would be now when the others were all distracted by Aska.
I waited several minutes before finally beginning with, "Kratos-"
"Don't bother," he said shortly.
I blinked at him. "I-I'm sorry?"
He glanced up briefly at me. "I don't need any help chopping vegetables, if that's what you're asking. Thank-you anyway."
I was unsure of what to say to this. "I…I wasn't going to…I mean…"
"Then what is it?" He met my eyes fully this time, and I knew there was no way I'd be able to say anything. I was reminded of that first night in Triet, when he'd caught me crying and had said all of those cryptic things. Well, not that pretty much everything he ever said wasn't cryptic anyway, but still
"Never mind," I said, and, to my surprise, I sounded annoyed more than anything. "Are you sure you don't want help?"
"Yes."
I started fidgeting again; only this time it was because I wanted to tell him off.
A little while later, Raine, Lloyd, Genis and Colette came back over.
"How did it go?" I asked as I began handing them their dinners.
"I'll sum up the situation in which they encountered the glowing bird," said Raine. She sat down and set her dinner on her lap, explaining rather than eating. "First, they encountered it on the Ossa Trail. This indicates that the glowing bird only appears in high places. Next, a Linkite Tree made a beautiful sound, as if the nuts were producing a melody. Finally, on that day there was a strong wind, and the sound of the Linkite Nuts was carried a long distance by the wind." She let out a breath. "I think that about sums it up."
"They said that, after travelling the world, they went back to the Ossa Trail again," said Genis, "but the Linkite Tree was already gone."
"And," Lloyd added, "they've yet to find another Linkite Tree on any of their journeys. At least, there weren't any they could get to by foot. Also, May gave us one of the nuts." He held it out and shook it. It made a light, tinkling noise like that of a small, silver bell.
"Which means in order to meet Aska, we need to search for a Linkite Tree in a place you can't get to on foot," Raine concluded.
"That sounds impossible," Lloyd said dejectedly.
"Yes…well, we don't need to accomplish it immediately. After all, releasing the seals comes first. And even if we did find a Linkite Tree, it wouldn't do us any good if it was dead."
"The sound has to be carried on the wind and playing a melody sounds difficult too," said Genis.
Lloyd thought for a moment, and then the light bulb came on and he turned to Raine. "Hey, couldn't you do something about a dead tree with your healing arts?"
"My power alone wouldn't be enough," she said in a way that suggested she'd already thought of this. "In order to heal something that's already dead, I'd need something that could strengthen my skills…something that could call forth the Linkite Tree's will to live. Something like an Exsphere or even just a small fragment of one…also, if it's dead, that means the ground there is weak. We'd need to replenish it and make it nourishing again."
Lloyd thought over everything that would need to be done. "Dad's the only one I can think of who might have a spare Exsphere…"
"Although," said Genis, "if there are any other dwarves around, they might have one, too."
"Even if we did find a spare Exsphere," I said impatiently, "we'd still have to do all those other things too, as well as actually find this tree."
"There's nothing we can do," Raine sighed. "Let's give up on Aska."
"Fascinating…"
"Whoa!" Lloyd jumped at the sound of Nova's voice. Apparently he'd stood there the whole time without us noticing, listening to Raine's explanation.
"I see now…" Nova went on. "That's impressive the way you've found the rules of how it works."
Lloyd shook his head tiredly. "But all we've learned is that meeting Aska is hard."
"Well, I suppose so…" Nova shrugged. "I've gone ahead and made note of the information you've assembled. Feel free to talk to me anytime you want to hear it."
"Thanks, we will!" said Colette with a smile.
"Now c'mon guys, eat your dinner!" I urged once Nova had left. "Kratos worked really hard on it all by himself." I sent a sideways glance at him and saw he held his hand to his face, shaking his head. I smiled smugly. If he wasn't going to talk about anything that was going on between us, I was just going to have to settle for getting my satisfaction this way.
I was going to end it just as they were leaving Palmacosta, but it was too short at that point so I decided I'd add in the whole Aska bit. Feel free to review if you wanna. There's some imaginary cupcakes in it for you :)