Hello!
This be Chapter Nine, subsequent to Chapter Eight and prior to Chapter Ten... OK, enough with the stupidity...
I have decided that I will take any idea's for this story, it was really fun working the last suggestion in, and I look forward to doing so again, personally, I though it added to the context of the story.
On another note, I have been thinking about the muse thing... a lot of authors have them, alot don't. Some are silly, some are serious, and some are copywrighted. I am going to create two, not for any real reason other than it amuses me. Introducing Royal Intrigue, a.k.a, "Inri". And Royal Pain In The #$, a.k.a, "Pit(a)". They are at most two of the voices running around in my head, which can get pretty funny when I think about. Well, now that I've named them, I'll let them speak.
Inri: "Hello. I exist to torture PITA with... well, you'll just have to see. I also help come up with plot devices, and some twists that might be coming up... you'll just have to read to find out."
Pit: "FINALLY! Do you realize how many cobwebs we had to get rid of. Geeze... Not to mention Inri's annoying riddles... It's insane!"
Well... There you have it... muses, what's next?
On with the story!
"I do not own Tales of Symphonia!" – I.K.A. Valian
It was cold. A chill wind kept it that way. Always cold in Hima. The graves of would be heroes covered the mountain side, maintaining the somber atmosphere. The single building on the side of the mountain had a sign in front of it that read, "Echoes." Inside the lounge of the lone building, Colette paced back and forth as Raine kneeled next Gaar with her staff glowing a bright green over him. Sheena sat next to the fire place talking with Corrine and Genis was sitting on the other side of Gaar watching Raine work. Lloyd and Kratos were making loud grunts and shouting as they trained outside.
"Raine, I know you said he would, but do you think he'll be ok. He hasn't woken up yet and you're still healing him." Colette stopped pacing back and forth to look at Raine for Genis' answer.
"Oh please, Professor, please say he'll be ok." Colette clasped her hands in front of her and pleaded with her eyes.
Raine sighed and the glow stopped emanating from her staff. She shook her head and stood up. "That is the best I can do for him. He's not physically hurt, at least not from what I can tell, but he seems to be losing Mana."
"What?"
"I don't know how it's possible either Genis, but that is what seems to be happening. Perhaps when Gaar cast the healing spell earlier, he used too much Mana or something to that effect. I just simply don't know. I've never met anyone whose body and Mana were composed in this manner." Colette and Genis looked sadly down at Gaar. "I tried to fix the damage by closing the places where his Mana was bleeding off, but I don't know if it will last. Right now, he just needs to rest."
Raine walked over to the fire place and slumped onto the bench next to Sheena. "You don't look so good." Sheena observed. She glanced behind her at Colette praying and Genis pacing. "Will he make it?"
Raine stared at the fire, her eye lids drooping. "Yes," she said, "I believe he'll make it. But I'm afraid that until we figure out why he started losing Mana in the first place, he'll never fully heal." The two women continued to stare into the crackling flames.
Two kids burst into the small one room home. Their bursts of joy and laughter brought smiles to the nursing mother in sitting in front of a fire and the man that followed the two children into the home. The man untied his waist strapped sword and rested it against the wall. The taller of the two children ran to the nursing woman and jumped up and down a few times. The shorter one mimicked the elder boy.
"Mother! Mother!" the elder boy exclaimed jubilantly.
"Mother! Mother!" repeated the younger lad.
"Mother!" continued the elder boy, "Father took us to the Castle! He bought us some fruits, Mother, Fruit!"
"Fruit, Mother, Fruit!" the younger mimicked.
"All right, all right, fruit!" the mother laughed. The baby cradled in her arms gurgled a few times and started to writhe about. The mother cooed at the baby and he again calmed and napped. "Keep it down, Kent, Christian. The baby is sleeping."
"Come boys," the man said from the other side of the room, "eat your supper."
"Yes Father." The two boys chimed in unison. They ran the small distance to the small table and started to slowly down a soupy mixture of grains and water.
"Bernard?" The man looked at the mother. Hesitantly, she asked, "Did you find… anything?"
"Aimee… I looked everywhere." Bernard sat down next to Kent and Christian at the table. "I even got a knight, a real knight, to help me search." Aimee's face started to brighten, but Bernard's remained downtrodden. "We couldn't find any trace of him." Aimee's face fell. Tears fell down her pale cheeks. She turned to the fire place and glanced up at the wooden crucifix on the mantle. The firelight turned her tears to prisms of light.
"Dear Lord," Aimee prayed quietly, "Please, watch over our son. Become the beacon of light that guides him home. Amen."
"Amen," chorused the two boys quietly. Bernard lowered his head and stared at the floor. Tears slid down his face as his large form was racked with great, heaving sobs. Kent was staring at his father and crying as well. Christian looked down at his food quietly.
"Father," Kent said quietly, breaking the somber atmosphere. "I have faith in the Lord. I know he'll be ok. Please do not grieve so." Bernard shook his head without looking up. "Father," Kent continued, "what about what the knight said, how we could live in the castle with the Lord Damien." Aimee looked at Bernard curiously. Bernard wiped his eyes and looked at Aimee and nodded. Aimee's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth fell slightly.
"He said he was impressed with the boys' chivalry. It seems they have been bringing all the good Christian families in the surrounding area into the castle walls."
"You mean the raids. Oh I do hope he is safe out there with those barbarians roaming the countryside." Aimee looked back at the fire. Cautiously, slowly, she asked, "What do you think we should do?" Bernard glanced at the two boys behind him, then at their half-full bowls of food. The two boys got the hint and started eating again.
"I think I saw one of the barbarians on the way back from the castle." Aimee turned sharply to Bernard. "And in the castle, I heard rumors of the hoard moving in this direction from the south. They've already destroyed three villages."
"SNAP!"
"CRASH!"
"RAAAAA!"
Everyone in the room jumped to their feet. The two boys ran over and hid behind Aimee, who was attempting to shush the upset child in her arms. Bernard unsheathed his sword and quickly went to the side of the door. The entire home was quiet save for the whimpering of the three children and the crackling of the fire. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes to hours. Sweat dripped down Bernard's temple as the sword wavered in his hand.
"RAAAAA!" a blur screamed as it wildly burst through the door, splintering it into a million pieces. Bernard was knocked onto his back, his sword just out of reach. The two children and their mother cowered in the opposing corner of the small house. What stood in between them was a terribly frightening barbarian. He held in his right hand an Axe covered in fresh blood. Small tendrils of steam rose from the crimson dripping Axe, the moon illuminating large man from behind. He was breathing heavily, his breath shooting out from his large metal helmet. His blood shot eyes fell upon the huddling woman and her three children and a large, malicious smile crept onto his face, his eyes spoke of slaughter.
He slowly crept toward, his axed raised, and his laughter growing ever louder, ever blood thirsty.
"Nooo!" Gaar shot up, covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and looking around frantically. Staring back at him were Colette, Genis, and Lloyd. Slowly Gaar stopped looking around frantically. He sat up on the floor of "Echoes" Inn and stared at the floor while holding his head.
"Gaar?" Gaar looked up into the concerned face of Colette. Genis and Lloyd shared that face on either side of him. "Thank goodness you're alright." Gaar stared at her for a minute before glancing at Lloyd and Genis. "You were out for the whole night, it seems you not only used too much mana, but you were awake for three days straight."
"I'm…" Gaar's voice sounded like scratching sand paper on wood.
"Here Gaar." Genis handed Gaar a glass of water. He drank it rapidly, then coughed and spit a little of it back up. "Hey, not so fast Gaar. You'll choke."
"Genis, you're starting to sound like Raine." Genis scowled at Lloyd.
"So Gaar, how do you feel?" Gaar finished the water and put the glass down.
Looking at Colette, he answered, "I feel much better. My headache is completely gone." Colette smiled and giggled. "… I hope what I was having was just a nightmare…" Gaar said under his breathe. No one seemed to notice, but Colette's right eye brow twitched. Gaar looked around the lounge and asked, "Where is everyone else? And… is this Hima?"
"We got here yesterday," Colette said. "When you fainted, Kratos had to carry you the rest of the way. By time we got here, it was already getting dark so we decided to rest for the night here." Gaar stood up and looked out the window. Outside the sun was rising over the mountains, the Tower of Salvation rose serenely into the sky casting a long shadow behind it.
"What's that?" Gaar pointed at the Tower of Salvation.
"What's what?" asked Lloyd. The three crowded around Gaar and looked at what he was pointing toward. "Oh, that… hmm, I'm not sure…"
"Uhh… Lloyd, that's the Tower of Salvation. Duh." Genis shook his head in disappointment. Colette giggled. A red faced Lloyd turned to Genis and was about to say something smart when the door opened and let in Raine, Sheena, and Kratos.
"I see you're awake," Kratos observed, "good."
"Gaar," Raine said, "please come over here so I may examine you." Gaar walked over to Raine, not seeing the faces that Lloyd and Genis made. Colette skipped behind Gaar, following him to stand before Raine.
"Hold your arms out." Gaar did as commanded. Raine went over every inch of Gaar's body with a critical eye. Finally she stood back up and said, "It appears that your Mana has stabilized," she said. "For now anyway," she added under her breath. "Until we figure out what caused you to rapidly lose Mana, I am going to suspend your Magic lessons."
Genis walked up behind Gaar and snorted. "Lucky you, Gaar."
"Instead," Raine continued, glaring at Genis, who swallowed audibly, "you will concentrate on your Archery skills." She handed Gaar a Bow and a quiver stuffed full of arrows. Some even had different tail feathers. Gaar looked at the bow in amazement. He ran his finger along the ornate designs and patterns along the grip.
"This isn't anything like the one the guy in the forest was using," Gaar pointed out.
"I took the liberty of having the customizer craft you that bow out of the strange material the thieves were 'liberating' from the Desians." Gaar looked at Kratos and started to say something, but he cut him off. "Consider this a formal thank you for saving my life." With that Kratos turned and walked out the door calmly, collected, and stiffly. As usual. Gaar looked down at the bow again, admiring the craftsmanship.
"I wonder what it was, the material I mean." Lloyd unsheathed his sword, Colette her Chakrams, Genis his Kendama, and Raine her Staff. They were all of the same new material as Gaar's bow. Some were mixed together with other things such as brass, or crystals, but for the most part, every item was a darker blue.
"I don't know what they're made of, but I can't wait to try these out. I feel stronger already, yeah!" Lloyd started swinging his new swords around. They made a low humming noise at high speeds that soothed the ear.
Genis' Kendama was made almost entirely of the dark blue material, but the ball at the end of the string was a silver ball with small studs. These studs came into contact with Lloyds' head and made him stop his mad swinging.
"Ow…" Lloyd rubbed his head and glared at Genis, who had his hand over his mouth and was laughing.
"Ok you two, stop fooling around and let's go, we have a ranch to take care of." Genis continued laughing as he ran out of the room. Lloyd growled and ran after him. Raine just sighed and followed.
Colette turned to Gaar and asked, "You coming?" Gaar looked up from his bow and nodded. He tied the quiver to his left side, slung the bow across his back, and followed Colette outside.
"So how are we going to get into the ranch?" Gaar asked.
"We already took care of that. While Colette, Lloyd and Genis were watching over you, Sheena, Kratos, and I went and retrieved this orb. In exchange, we must find a way to cure Pietro of his sickness." Raine pulled a black orb out of her pocket. "According to Pietro, there is an entrance to the base hidden behind a boulder somewhere right outside of the patrol routes. This orb is supposed to open that entrance."
"How come you couldn't heal him now Professor?" Raine looked at Gaar and shook her head sadly.
"I do not know any spell that would heal that man of what is afflicting him." Raine looked down at her hands sadly. "Though it appears that Sophia knew of a spell that Master Boltzmann created, so we'll have to search for that."
"Was there really a boulder there?" Genis asked, changing the subject. He scratched his chin in thought.
"I do recall something that seemed unnatural…" Kratos started walking slowly toward the path out of Hima.
"Yes," Colette said, "let's check it out." She ran to catch up with Kratos.
"Yeah, let's," agreed Lloyd as he ran after Colette. Genis and Gaar looked at each other, shrugged, and took off, Raine hot on their heels.
The room's deafening silence was broken by the clinking and chinking of the pitch black armor. The eyes of the man inside of the armor were burning red, almost with a glow. He walked up the long, dark stairway. Once the armored man reached the precipice of the stairway, he walked to within three feet of a throne and kneeled.
"Lord Yggdrasill," the armored man said in a voice so deep and base that the very air seemed to vibrate.
The blond angel looked down upon the armored man and said, "Black Knight. I have called you forth to serve my bidding. Will you do so… unquestioningly?"
"Yesss…' Yggdrasill smiled at the malicious hissing coming from the Knight.
Yggdrasill stood up and started to walk to the side of the room where a computer terminal was set up. He typed a few keys and a holographic image of Gaar appeared to his right. "This is your quarry, I wish for him to be destroyed. Hunt him down and kill him."
"Yesss…"
"He travels with companions. They are not to be killed."
"Yesss…"
"Now go." Yggdrasill pointed back down the stairway and watched the Knight get up and make his way back down the stairway, his black armor clinking and clanking. Each of his foot falls seemed to leave dents in the floor in the shape of his armored foot. Yggdrasill grinned from ear to ear, his eyes burned with inhospitable hatred. "Now little boy, your time is up!" Yggdrasill laughed maliciously for a long while the image of Gaar floated in the air.
Inri: "Well, I wonder who that Black Knight is... I know, but I wont tell..."
Pit: "You know, sometimes, I wonder if you're more of a pain than I am. I mean, what's worse than baiting someone's apetite for knowledge and then leaving them dry. Not fair I tell you, not fair."
Inri: "Life isn't fair. It most certainly wasn't fair to you or me."
Pit: "Just because we're siblings doesn't mean life's unfair." Starts poking Inri in the shoulder constantly
Inri: "Life, I will get my vengence..."
Well, those two are getting alone nicely... On another note, Yggdrasill has found a new minion, and he's sporting all black... that's fun, but not servicable in heat though. Please review.
Pit: "Yeah, review or else..." Still poking Inri in the shoulder
Inri: "That was my line you moron. Review and I'll tell you how I will punish my dear, sweet brother..."
Pit: gulp
