Alaia Skyhawk: Yep, it's MARBLE! If you're wondering about a certain scene later on, don't worry I have it planned out already. He he. I'll bet you're really starting to wonder just how else I'll twist the scenes to come. :)
I don't own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue me. I do however own Krishka, Dallinius (Dalli), Aluran, the Alurannai and any OCs, except Sanaro and Annule, who belong to Mr.Who2123, and Mika and Fiuras, who belong to WingedWithFireyMana, so please don't steal them...
Enjoy
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Chapter 10: The Journey Begins
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The spring sun shone down, the wind drifting over the plains of grass, the caress of the breeze bending the stalks so that they rippled into the distance like a green ocean. Over this plain walked a rather mixed group of people, a group that had left the Village of Oracles just two days before.
A woman with hair of ebony, leading the way as her deep green reta fluttered in the breeze that also stirred her purple transparent wings.
A woman with hair of grey, riding on the back of a huge green and white canine like creature.
A woman with silver hair, striding through the stems with her vivid orange over robe bright in the sun.
A boy, also silver haired, walking alongside the canine as he talked to the woman riding it.
A boy with rich brown hair and transparent wings of scarlet tucked beneath a white edged azure reta, gazing at the ebon haired woman as she smiled at him and nodded in response to some silent comment.
And lastly a girl with hair the colour of sun brushed gold, clothed in purest white edged in blue. A girl who fair danced through the grass with a smile of joy on her face. This was the beginning of the journey she'd been born to make, the fate of a world resting on her young shoulders, and yet still she took wonder in that world and smiled even as she set out to save it.
It was a time of peace for them, that they knew it would likely end before long only making it more special. They would enjoy it while they could, for as long as they could.
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"Marble, are you feeling better now?"
Marble was the name of the woman Vayla had saved. The man who she'd been unable to save had remained nameless however, for the only person who might have know it was Marble and she'd still been asleep when the group had left the village. The people of Iselia had promised to bury him in the village cemetery, giving him at least an honourable farewell, nameless though he'd remained. As shocking as it had been to have the Desians show up that morning, due to the misguided actions of Genis and Lloyd, the people of the village upon hearing what had happened had sympathised with the youths, and with the Desians having left again without causing harm they had let the matter drop. One individual who refused to let the matter drop though was the mayor. Mayor Vander had railed on at how they should never have let elves into the village and that with Lloyd's actions it was clear the Alurannai were no better. Lloyd would have punched him for that, but Vayla beat him to it by slapping him and saying 'Get your facts straight before opening your mouth, and maybe next time you'll have the sense not to speak so offensively of a race kindred to the Summon Spirits. You should also really learn to respect your elders, for I'm considerably older than you will ever be'. The mayor had stormed off, furious, but none of the villagers had defended him. None of them would considering just what the woman he'd offended was. Things after that had been uneventful as they'd set off, apart from Vayla confiscating all their bags and making them vanish into the device they'd seen her use earlier. A 'ver' she'd called it. A magitechnological device developed by the Alurannai to store a large number of items in a very small container of sorts. Raine had looked entranced by it, but had been thwarted from asking questions about it by Vayla picking up the still unconscious Marble and walking out of the South Gate with everyone else in the group in tow. Here and now, two days later, Marble was fully awake and strong enough to sit astride Noishe who was more than happy to carry her. She was a kind woman, and he could sense her heart was pure and true.
Marble smiled down at the boy beside her unusual steed, reaching over and ruffling his hair which was at just the right height for her to do so.
"Much better now, Genis. Thank you for asking and thank you for all you've done to look after this old woman."
Genis had spent every one of Marble's waking moments of the last two days staying near in case she needed something, cooking recipes that would help her build up her strength and hovering nearby as she ate in case she wanted seconds. Even when she'd been asleep he'd watched over her as long as he'd been awake, something Vayla had told her about that morning when she'd woken up before her little carer. In return she'd started telling him stories as they travelled, watching as the boy's eyes had lit up with each new tale and brought warmth to her heart.
Genis reached up, putting a hand on her arm.
"It's alright, I don't mind. I just want to make sure you get better, that's all."
She smiled, patting the hand that was on her arm.
"You know, you remind me of my granddaughter. Always fussing over this old woman. You're a sweet boy, don't ever lose that. Remember to stay true to yourself no matter what others may think. You're going on a long and arduous journey, and many would lose themselves to it. I don't want to hear in the future that the sweet little boy that was so kind to me stopped being himself. Will you promise me that? To remember to stay true to yourself and not lose your kind nature?"
Genis' face became determined.
"I promise!" Noishe suddenly spun his head round and ducked his shoulders, grabbing him. "Whoa! ...What?"
Genis now found himself somehow behind Marble on the Protozoan's back, said Protozoan chuckling beneath them as he continued to walk. Taking a grip on the cloth of the dress Vayla had provided the old woman with, Genis began to laugh as Marble too began to chuckle with amusement.
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Hands gestured, eyes moved, and facial expressions changed. This was perfectly normal for a pair of people having a conversation, except in this case unless one were a member of the Offspring Races or had a receiver crystal, one would see only two people who looked as though were speaking and yet neither of their lips moved other than to change their expression. The sight had been a bit distracting at first for the rest of the group, bar Noishe, but after a few hours of seeing it they'd gotten used to the idea. After all they'd seen Lloyd having apparently one sided conversations with Noishe for two weeks, so seeing a two sided, yet sort of no sided, conversation didn't seem that strange anymore.
So that's how you control it... It's weird not being able to sleep, I don't think I like it that much.
Vayla chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Lloyd, there isn't an adolescent or adult alurannai alive that hasn't said the same thing at some point. We like to sleep, all living things do, but going without it does have its advantages though. By turning off the need to sleep, and the need to eat, we can travel over land or fly to a place without having to stop to rest or cook. The same things let us learn complicated lessons without having to interrupt them after a few hours. There are other reasons too that any parent can tell you... When you were born your mother doted on you all through the day, and then watched you sleep all through the night. She did it for weeks before your father finally convinced her that enough was enough and she needed to leave you alone in your room and not hover over you so. She would never have been able to watch over you like that if not for the ability to turn off the need for sleep. I did the same with Alysii... Loving her so much I couldn't bare not to be by her in those first few precious weeks...
Lloyd looked off to the horizon as Vayla wiped a tear from her cheek. His expression distant.
Alysii... She's alive... I can feel it. He put a hand to his chest, as Vayla looked at him startled. I wasn't sure before, when my memories were just starting to come back, but I felt it then too... She's alive. I'm certain of it... And I get the feeling she's not that far away... In Sylvarant for sure...
Vayla was wide eyed with hope.
Could you know because you were born so close together?
Lloyd's face remained distant.
Maybe... I vaguely remember picking up what she was feeling from time to time when we were little, even when Ata and Myrta took me to Clear Falls to visit and she was all the way back in Nae Shiu. I can sense what she's feeling now, really faintly. She's mulling over something... something she's determined about but not sure about either. He frowned, as though trying to find more from that faint trace. He shook his head. I'm sorry, that's all I can get...
Vayla reached out and hugged him with one arm, the pain that had haunted her eyes since she'd arrived at the Temple, gone from them.
Lloyd, what you've given me with those few words is more than enough... Until now I wasn't sure whether or not I was searching for a ghost. But thanks to you I now know she's out there. She smiled. A smile that truly reached her eyes. Now since we have the time, let's get you started on some basic theory for Healing Arts. I heard from Genis that you've cast a couple of simple spells already, so I think I should at least get you using first level spells in that area with confidence...
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The girl laughed, stepping lightly though the waving grass with the wind tugging at her long blond hair. Watching as Collette revelled in this first new horizon she'd ever seen in her sheltered life, Raine mulled over what she had been told just a few weeks before...
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It was dark outside, the hour so late that the entire village was asleep... That is, all but those gathered in the tiny side chapel of the village church.
Raine perched on the edge of the front most pew in the chapel, waiting for Phidra to explain why she'd been asked to come here at to strange a time. Under that gaze the priestess paced, until finally she came to stop by the tapestry hung in this room where the altar would be in the larger room next door.
"Last year you agreed to act as the healer among those who are to escort Collette on her journey... We explained a great deal to you about how she must travel to and release the various Seals, of how she will slowly become an angel over the course of doing so... But we did not tell you just what becoming an angel means for a Chosen of Regeneration." Phidra turned to face her, expression grim. "When Collette... no, the Chosen, becomes an angel, the girl she is will cease to exist... That is... Collette Brunel, the girl you have taught the past ten years... will die..."
Raine lurched to her feet, staring at the priestess in shock.
"She'll die?! And you condone that?!"
Phidra rapped her cane on the floor, silencing her.
"Collette knows what will happen, and she has accepted it. We have kept nothing from her. She's known what the journey would end in since she was ten, yet never once has she let it change who she is. She lives every day as if it were her last, because she knows that one day her final day will come... and when it does I know she will have no regrets." Phidra walked towards her, the tap of the cane punctuating every other step. "You think this hasn't been difficult for me? I've known since Aradine was thirteen years old that her child would be sent out to perform the Regeneration Ritual. I had that knowledge when my son Frank was picked to be her husband... When she gave birth to my granddaughter Collette... When I watched her hold that child in her arms for the first time... I knew through it all what was to come to pass..." There were tears in Phidra's eyes now. "I was wracked with guilt over not telling them, living my life like a shadow behind a mask of serenity. It was Dirk who made me realise that by dwelling on what was to come I was missing what was happening in the here and now. Since that day I made sure to live every day with my granddaughter to its full, and so although I will miss her... I will not regret the time we had together, because I know I made every minute of it count. That is why Collette has her motto: Always look on the bright side and smile. She knows her days are numbered, and so she pulls every moment of happiness from each one she still has..."
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Raine continued to watch her, as she stopped upon finding a wild flower. Walking over to her, Raine picked it and tucked it into the girl's hair.
"Why don't you see if you can find more of them? When you have enough I'll make them into a garland for your hair. Would you like that?"
Collette beamed at her, blue eyes sparking with happiness.
"I'd really like that. Thank you, Professor!"
The girl skipped off, Raine smiling as she watched the girl as she began hunting for more flowers as they walked.
Phidra's right, we do have to live each day like it's the last... After all no one knows when their time will come, and many die never having the chance to do all they wanted to when death takes a sudden hand in their life... Collette, in some ways she's blessed by knowing, because it means she has the chance to prepare, and to leave this life with no regrets...
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They sat around the campfire, watching and laughing as Lloyd took up Vayla's challenge of trying to do a back flip while flying. He knew he still had weeks to go before he mastered flying, and he knew he'd screw this up, but he was going to try anyway because it was fun and it would make everyone laugh.
Spreading his scarlet segmented wings, he created the bubble of mana around himself that he needed to fly. Confident it was stable he kicked off the ground several feet and hovered shakily.
Genis and Collette began to chant.
"Llo-yd! Llo-yd! Llo-yd!"
He frowned with concentration, and then flapped his wings to send himself over and backwards. As he expected he miscalculated it completely... and smacked head first into the nearby long grass as everyone burst out laughing.
Poking his head up out of the grass, Lloyd began to laugh as well.
"Oh well, I'll get it next time."
Settling down next to Vayla, accepting a bowl of soup cooked by Genis, he looked out to the star dusted horizon beyond the fire light... reaching for that faint trace he could feel so far away...
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The figure stopped in their tracks, turning and looking towards the north-west. Brown eyes became distant as they felt the faintest familiar brush in the back of their mind.
A girl's voice whispered.
"I know that... I've felt that before... I..."
She shook her head, the moment of faint recollection gone, back into the fog that blocked out her most distant memories.
I'm just imagining things...
The girl began to walk along the rocky track once more... but not before hesitating a moment longer looking back...
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Alaia Skyhawk: Ok, I 'was' going to explain the extra Exbelua in this but it didn't fit. I 'will' explain it soon though in an upcoming chapter.