Tales of Angels

Chapter 11

Felling that Lloyd had played with the small semi-circular gem long enough, Yuan pulled out a premade key crest and gestured for Lloyd's hand. When he received his godson's hand he placed the metal crest on the back of his hand. Taking the small gem from Lloyd, he placed it in the center of the key crest where it fit perfectly.

Lloyd felt the gem cling to his skin, like a sock would when charged with an electrical current. The gem felt cold on his hand, but not nearly as cold as the crest itself. Just from the felling of it, Lloyd could tell that he would not be able to remove the key crest easily, not as long as the gem was on it anyhow. The moment the gem was placed on his hands, he did feel something besides the cold temperature that it provided. It felt almost like a nibble on his skin, but he quickly passed it off as the gem attaching to the crest.

"Now Lloyd," Yuan spoke, getting the younger angel's attention. "If anyone asks you were you got an exsphere, just say you got it from a dead Desian, alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure whatever you say Uncle Yuan," Lloyd replied, not exactly paying full attention to the man in front of him. Lloyd was absent mindedly rubbing his free hand over his newly augmented one, more specifically, over the fake exsphere.

Yuan watched attentively at the younger boy's behavior. 'Could he really…?' Yuan thought to himself. The millennia old seraph quickly pushed the thought from his head, and focused on a more pressing matter. "Are you feeling better?"

"Huh?" Lloyd asked, turning his head towards his god father. Yuan sighed in response to Lloyd's intelligent answer.

"How does your head feel?" Yuan clarified.

"A little fuzzy, but otherwise alright, I guess," Lloyd replied.

"Well enough to travel?" Yuan clarified. Watching Lloyd occasionally sway on his feet told him all he needed to know. "Go lay down Lloyd," he said calmly.

"But Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd tried to protest.

"Bed!" Yuan ordered. Lloyd began to act like he was going to protest but Yuan silenced him before he started. "Now," he added as he pointed back towards the direction of the beds. With a defeated sigh, Lloyd turned back towards the bed he woke from, his wings drooping behind him.


Genis and Raine had left to go and see the damage done to their home, leaving Kratos and the Brunels. Noishe had long since gone to play with the young children. The small group sat themselves at the table located within the Brunel household. Phaidra prepared a proper lunch for her granddaughter and her mercenary guardian.

They explained to Colette what had happened in the village after her group had left, considering the young Chosen was most eager to find out. Kratos stood in back, near the stairway and watched the family talk. "So a few hours before noon, as Lloyd was about to head over to the Church with your grandmother, we heard an explosion and-"Frank was cut off in mid-story.

"Kratos, why don't you have a bite to eat, there is plenty to go around," Phaidra offered as she gestured to the food sitting on the table. "I'm sure a mercenary like you has to keep his strength up," she added kindly.

Colette and Frank paused in their conversation to observe the exchange between the mercenary and the head priestess. It was then that Colette realized that Kratos was the only one not to have eaten anything, and the more she thought about it, he ate as little as Lloyd usually did. Even though Phaidra's tone was soft and kind, both Colette and her father could notice the suspicious glint in the elderly woman's eyes.

"Thank you, but I am accustomed to eating very little," Kratos spoke. The elderly woman narrowed her eyes slightly, but kept a smile on her face.

"But I insist!" she spoke. "We have plenty, and it would be a shame for all of this good food to go to waste."

Sensing inevitable defeat, Kratos reached over and grabbed a small sandwich and nibbled on it. All the while Phaidra watched the man out of the corner of her eye, even though she turned her attention back to Colette who was listening to the story that the village had fabricated.

"The mayor has requested your presence before you leave again," Frank added after he finished his tale. Colette blinked in confusion.

"R-really? What for?" the young chosen asked.

"I believe it was something about a formal apology, or something of that sort," Frank replied. Colette only tilted her head in confusion. "Anyway, I guess we should just head over and get it done and over with before he throws a fit."

"Alright," Colette replied, still confused as to why the mayor would want to apologize for anything.

"Frank, why don't you be a dear and go with Colette," Phaidra spoke. "Kratos, I would greatly appreciate some help if you could spare your strength, my son is exhausted, and I'm too old to do it…" the elderly woman asked. She eyed the mercenary with wise eyes, knowing eyes that the seraph could easily recognize.

"Very well, I suppose I can help with whatever task you need accomplished," Kratos replied.


Yggrassil stormed out of Yuan's empty quarters. Sure, he may have assigned the half-elf to hunt down the renegades while Kratos was escorting the Chosen, but that still meant he had to be there in Derris Kharlan when he was going to see the seraph.

Angrier at the missing books rather than the missing seraph, Yggrassil left out a growl that caused several of the lifeless angels to venture towards him.

"Lord Yggrassil," they said with a bow. "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"Find Yuan and bring him to me," Yggrassil spoke quietly, trying to remain calm and keep his complexion.

"At once Lord Yggrassil," the angels replied in unison before flying off to find the missing seraph.

The leader of Cruxis walked casually through the streets of Welgaia. There were no shops, no parks, no trees, or crowds. The city was as desolate as a dessert, but also as populated as a major city. Lifeless angels glided about the city, those without a task at hand drifted towards each other and began to share idle gossip, while those with tasks rushed to get them accomplished.

The metallic streets and metal buildings guiding the mighty angel back to his castle were practically empty.


The elderly woman sat down in one of the chairs by the table with a loud sigh. "You're Lloyd's father, aren't you?" Phaidra asked bluntly. Kratos was taken aback by the sudden question. The elderly priestess waited until the others had left the house and out of sight before confronting the angel.

"Excuse me?" Kratos suddenly said, absolutely confused. Phaidra simply smiled.

"He looks just like you when his hair is down," she simply said.

"How did you-"Kratos began to ask, still completely shocked.

With a soft chuckle Phaidra replied," When you get to be my age, and have raised two young angels, you can tell the differences between them and humans. One such attribute being their appetites…"

"…I see," Kratos replied as re regained his former tone. But then he added, "You said you raised two angels?"

"I meant both Lloyd and Colette, even though the Chosen is not an angel yet, she will be soon enough," the priestess said with another soft chuckle. "But…," the priestess started.

"I first noticed when you arrived at the church, you two looked so similar, but I just couldn't match two and two together. The second clue was how you would always turn your head slightly to wherever his name was mentioned," Phaidra continued.

"I see," Kratos spoke.

"Then of course there was the matter of the Desians in the village, Lloyd has that same determined look in his eyes as you. Also with the boy's hair covering half of his face, he looks like a miniature version of you," Phaidra finished with a happy smile on her face. "You should be proud, Lloyd is a fine young man."

"He gave you no problems as he was going up then I presume?" Kratos asked with the slightest trace of a smile on his face, just goading the rest of it to show.

"None at all! Except that he would disappear in the middle of the night every now and again, it made Colette worry about him. She tried to follow him a couple of times, but always got caught. That girl and her clumsiness," Phaidra mused to herself with a short giggle.

"The Chosen and Lloyd are close?" Kratos asked all traces of a smile disappearing on his face as he absent mindedly took a seat opposite of the priestess.

"Absolutely, best friends I guess you could call it, but Colette has an adorable crush on him, and I'm sure that somewhere in his heart Lloyd feels the same.

'That could complicate things,' Kratos spoke to himself. "I take it then that the story of what had transpired here is fabricated then?"

"Mostly, but not completely. Would you like to hear the complete story?" the priestess asked. When Kratos nodded, the old woman smiled. "I'll start a batch of tea then," she said as she rose from her seat.


The next morning Yuan escorted Lloyd to the dessert town of Triet. Yuan dressed in his usual attire, while Lloyd was still dressed in his church garments, but this time had his twin swords attached to his belt, and his knapsack on his back, containing his spare clothes, sleeping bag, and some other basic provisions such as food and water.

The small town was surrounded by a large wall made of hardened sand. The buildings were composed of the same material. The streets were filled with bazaars and vendors. Crowds of people flocked towards them. The settlement surrounded an oasis that was large enough to provide the entire town with water.

The seraph escorted his godson to Triet to make sure he got there safely and to make sure he was fully recovered. "Alright Lloyd, I'm sure the chosen's group has not come through here yet, so just be patient and wait. Try to kill some time and relax while you can. The inn is just over that way," Yuan spoke as he gestured over to the large two-story building nearest to the entrance they stood by.

"Shops lie all over the city so you can explore them as you wish. And if you feel the need, you can ask others if they have seen your friends," Yuan finished.

"Yeah, sure," Lloyd muttered as he was gazing at the town in wonder. The dessert wind carried traces of sand in it causing small waves of sand to ripple across the sandy streets.

With a chuckle Yuan dropped a sack a small gold coins in the younger angel's hands. "That should be enough gald to get you by until your father gets here, if not I guess you could just get a job," Yuan spoke in a soft mocking tone.

"Thanks Uncle Yuan!" Lloyd exclaimed with a goofy grin as he scratched the back of his head with one of his hands. Then he ran off towards the town to investigate it further.

"Good luck Lloyd," Yuan muttered under his breathe with a smile on his face before he turned and left back towards his base.

Unfortunately for the blue haired seraph, one of Cruxis' messenger angels decided to visit him instead. "Lord Yuan," the angel greeted with a respectful bow. "Lord Yggrassil requests your presence. Something about books from the sacred archive," the angel said.

"Thank you," Yuan said, managing to keep a straight face. "You are dismissed." With that the angel bowed before disappearing in a flash of light just like it appeared. The only remaining signs of the messenger were a few feathers slowly drifting towards the ground.

"So he finally starts to catch on a little," Yuan mused. "A little late though," he continued as he continued on his way back to his base. There was no way he'd let Yggrassil discover the same information as him, he'd hunt down and capture Lloyd.


This time the entire village or at least what was left of it came out to see them off. Looking around, Colette was pleased to see that Raine had allowed her little brother Genis to join them in the end. Now, fully equipped, they were going to head out again, this time without the Ranch's interference, or at least she hoped so.

'Lloyd, you're out there somewhere, wait for me,' Colette said to herself before turning towards the road, her face visible with confidence and determination.

The steps were much easier for her to take than when they were two nights ago when she first left. This time though, she wasn't leaving behind her best friend, her crush, instead she was going out there to meet him and regenerate the world!


After purchasing a room for the next few days at the inn, Lloyd discovered that Yuan had practically left the boy a small fortune to work with. So he decided to browse around the shops just like his god father had suggested.

Lloyd saw weapon stands, but he was perfectly comfortable with his dwarven made swords. He saw numerous armor shops, but all that metal would just irritate his wings and weigh him down. He saw numerous food stands, but he didn't have to eat as much as regular people did. He noticed her shops, and potion shops, but his angelic healing skills were far better, or at least to him they were.

Apart from a couple of trinket shops here and there, the bazaar was kind of boring and disappointing. One small establishment stood out from the rest though, draped in purple cloth rather than the same stale tan as the others. This tent had ornate designs on the fabric as well as a couple of decorative plants outside the entrance.

Deciding to give the place a go, Lloyd ventured inside. He was surprised to see just how small the place was compared to how enormous it looked on the outside. The inside was pretty plain, a few flowers here and there, and a counter running across the center, dividing the already small area into two separate parts. A woman sat in a chair opposite of where Lloyd stood, her back to him, her eyes downcast into a glass-like ball she held in her hands. She wore a simple purple dress to accommodate her long black hair.

"Greetings, fledgling of Cruxis," the woman spoke, effectively startling Lloyd who made a quick double take to make sure his wings were hidden. "Fear not, young master, I mean you no harm, to you or your secret. I was just able to sense the mass of mana about you," she continued to speak as she turned to face Lloyd. The woman reached back and tucked some of her hair behind one of her long pointed ears. "You are not the only one walking amongst humans," she said with a smile.

Settling down a little, Lloyd let out a sigh. "You're an elf?" he asked. The woman nodded.

"Yes, not all elves live in Heimdal, some of us prefer open places, exotic places, or even in my case dessert places," the elf said. "Now then, you put me in a good mood, so I'll give you a reading for free," she said with a smile.

"A reading?" Lloyd asked. The elf only giggled.

"Fortune telling," Martel clarified for Lloyd.

Understanding as if a light switch went off in his head, gave his trademark goofy grin. "Alright! Sounds fun!" he exclaimed.

"May I see your hand?" the elf asked. Lloyd held out his right hand so she would be able to take it. "Now place that hand on the top of my crystal ball," she continued. Lloyd did as instructed as the elf set the ball on the counter on a pedestal.

The ball began to glow with a cerulean light when the young angel touched the sphere. Startled, Lloyd quickly pulled his hand back. The elf didn't seem to mind.

"I see," the elf started. "A young woman of great worth, she will play the ultimate role in your life." The fortune teller spoke as she gazed into the ball. "I see much pain and many trials that must be overcome. I see an ancient flower, once again blooming…" she continued.

Lloyd only gazed at the ball as he listened intently. "I see a tree, dying, and spreading forth misfortune, waiting to be resurrected. I see a massive tower, reaching into the heavens, and a woman, trapped within her own prison, waiting to be rescued," the elf finished. She looked up from the orb, and back at Lloyd. "The rest is too blurry for me to decipher."


There you have it folks, chapter 11! I hope you enjoy it! But even more important than that, I want to know what you all feel about it, so I'll be happy to take any questions, comments, corrections, etc, so don't be shy!

Thanks!