Yay, I'm writing more. I hopefully will be better about updating, this is after all a more crucial part of the story. Sheba's past is rather important. I'm so glad I could this up before I left for vacation.
Thank yous:
Flowers of Moss: I missed you! I'm so glad you still like this story!
GaretFire: Whoohoo! Another Steamshipper! And to answer your questions: "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" came from a poem by the same name. I love that poem. Yes this will be a Garet/Mia for the rest of the story. I like that couple and, really, Mia doesn't need to go through any more emotional tension.
IC3 4N63L: I've been trying to be better about updating, and about reviewing fics I like to read…I've been so lazy...
Karst-Blazen: I'm sorry, hon. I've gotten to far in the story and I'm not changing the pairings I picked.
Wolfy 129: It would have been a lot easier for you to read if didn't erase my page breaks! I'm trying to rely more on descriptions and inner turmoil/thoughts and the like, rather than straight out dialogue. I don't want this to turn into a script format fic.
Shadows on the Wall: Yay! I'm glad you liked it.
Suh: I owe my success to you of course. And an old, dead guy named Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter. His vivid descriptions of penance and redemption and his artful way of describing things in general really influenced me. I usually write my best when I read a good book.
Now on with the story.
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Chapter Twenty: Mystery of the Night
Sheba sat at the window of the Chieftain's house reflecting on what he had said to her before she came to the settlement. The secret to her past lay within the mystery of the night. Her memories had long eluded her. The farthest back she can remember is to about when she was ten years old, but even then things were abrupt and unexplained. She heard a voice telling her to search for Prince Felix and bring about world peace. What happened next was a blur. She vaguely remembered falling from the sky and being found by a temple priest. As soon as the people realized her powers of premonition, she was immediately worshiped. The worship, the reverence...they all smothered her until she felt she couldn't breathe. Then suddenly, after the enchantment and wonder of her powers died down, the oracle became isolated from the world, living only with visions of a desolate future and incense smoke. Her only solace was with her dreams of Felix, the man who would save the world and the one whom she would grow to love. Sheba spent her life with little contact with people, and when she had conversations with others, it was very obvious that she lived and talked like she was always in another world. All this contributed to a fairly miserable and lonely life.
Ever since her capture however, she felt alive. Despite the fact that danger and death were always on her heels, being with real people had done wonders for the young oracle. Sheba in all her life had never had any real friends, and these young adults were a breath of fresh air. Jenna with her forthrightness, Mia and her gentle manner, Ivan and his shrewd nature, Garet and his feisty personality, Isaac and his keen sense of nobility, Piers and his quiet sophistication, and Feizhi and her quirky charm; they all gave her a glimpse of the real world, the world she was sent to protect. Then of course there was Felix. Felix was almost beyond words to the blonde girl. Felix had an air of strength, a stability that Sheba had long lacked in her life. The prince, once he believed in something, fought for it with all his vital energy. His affections, once turned her way were tender and unchanging. The Venusian prince had indeed filled her life with a warmth and love that had before been non existent. Her only fear in learning of her past was that some how, Felix's feelings would be dissuaded. If that were to happen, Sheba was unsure of what she would do. Sheba buried her face in her hands. If she would loose the young prince's affections, she wished that she didn't have to learn of her past.
"Sheba? Are you all right?" a familiar voice said gently. It was Felix, no doubt he was worried of her sudden unwillingness to talk to anyone, him especially. She shook her head.
"No, everything's fine..." she answered. The prince sat at her feet and rested his head her lap.
"Don't lie to me Sheba," he whispered. The blonde took in a deep breath. She knew Felix could read her like a book.
"I...I don't want to know about my past..." Sheba replied, "I'm scared."
Felix lifted his gaze toward her, his brown eyes full of understanding, "No matter what happens, Sheba, I'll be there for you."
With that he once again resumed his resting position. The oracle's purple eyed gaze became cloudy with tears. 'Felix...you are an amazing person. It's a shame you don't know how wonderful you are,' she thought as she ran her fingers through his unruly hair. She secretly wished that time would stop, that she could stay at peace forever.
Behind closed doors, the Chieftain paced the floor as Sheba and the others sat expectantly. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment all her questions would be answered. Who were her parents? Why could she see the future? Why was most of her life blocked from her memory? Sheba stared apprehensively at the man before her. Even as she watched him, more questions filled her mind. A strange mix of emotions was threatening to burst out of her at any moment. The oracle somehow was able to mask it with an outward calm. Felix, who was faithfully by her side, took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. Lately she wondered that if he was almost gifted with the ability to read her mind. He seemed to always know just how she felt and just what she needed.
"It's a long story and it's hard to decide where to begin..." the Chieftain said finally, "I guess it would only be fair to start out with who you once were."
Long ago, before the civilizations of Weyard had even begun to exist, there was Luna, Sol and the gods. They all existed in harmony and bliss, Luna and Sol headed all things together and the gods lived under them. Soon, the gods felt it necessary to have underlings to worship them. They entreated Luna and Sol to create humans and other creatures to venerate them. The two consented and created humans, dragons, birds, fish and many other creatures to inhabit a world called Weyard. The Wise One was then created by Luna and Sol to watch over the humans. For many years there was peace among the humans.
The humans were doing so well, the gods thought it best to create gems of the four principle elements that make up the world and allow them to spread their powers of psynergy over Weyard. Luna and Sol once again consented, and created lighthouses to house each gem. The Mercury Lighthouse was to the south, the Mars Lighthouse was to the north, the Jupiter Lighthouse was to the east and the Venus Lighthouse was to the west. The people were even happier and were eager to use their now found powers to venerate the gods. However, as the years dragged on, many misused their psynergy, but they continued to claim that they should not be taken away for they needed their power to serve their gods. The Wise One grew angry with the gods and ordered them to put out the lighthouses. The gods, of course, flatly refused. The Wise One began to dissuade followers of certain gods, making them go toward gods who only used their type of psynergy. This made various adepts of psynergy band together, Mercury adepts with Mercury adepts, Venus adepts with Venus adepts and so forth. The gods who were a mix of two elements, such as Zagan, Charon, Catastrophe, and Iris, became weak, and the Wise One sealed them and their power easily.
Soon, the adepts began to wish to look like the gods they worshiped and the gods consented. The people's appearance was then altered, hence the birth of the dragon people, mermaids, and angels. Sol was outranged with the gods for changing the appearance of his creations, but Luna was willing to forgive them. Thus there occurred a split between the two psynergies. Sol took the two races of the Venus and Mars under his rule and Luna took the two races of Jupiter and Mercury under hers. This made some races intolerant of the other's psynergy, much like in the instance of the Mars and the Mercury clans. As Luna and Sol's rage turned toward each other, the Wise One saw that the four remaining groups of gods were responsible for the split and he decided to eliminate the source of their power, the Elemental stars. He found that he couldn't destroy them, but he was able to un-light the lighthouses. The last of the gods' power was weakened and the Wise One sealed them up also.
The Wise One had earned much power, and had become corrupt since the removal of the gods. He soon wanted to have the power of Luna and Sol for himself. The two realized that if the Wise One were to have their abilities, their world would soon crumble. They used their power to revive all the gods and lead an upscale war against the Wise One. By this time, the Wise One had amassed many powerful dark followers who also fought by his side. The battle was epic but soon, it came down to an all out showdown between Luna, Sol and the Wise One. The Wise One was defeated, but not completely. Wounded and weak he went into a state of rest, to gain strength for a future time. Luna and Sol knew that they had used most of their energy to defeat the Wise One and they would not live much longer. Both Sol and Luna put all their remaining power into a sacred orb called the Golden Sun, which would only be activated if the lighthouses were lit once again. Sol then entrusted his spirit to the noble kings of the Venus clan because they were the only race to stay true to their original form. Luna, however, had just enough strength left to transfer her spirit to a baby of the Jupiter clan. She asked the gods to use the last of their power to preserve the baby girl alive for 1,000 years and send her back to the Jupiter clan, with acute powers of premonition. The gods fulfilled her dying wish and kept the baby alive in a state of suspended animation. During the latter part of the millennium that was to pass, the gods allowed the baby to age to the age of ten. By that time, the spirit of Sol had already manifested itself in the royal decedents of the Venus clan. The girl was sent back to Weyard and told to look for this young royal and help him assemble a group to save the world from the evil that had already begun to fester.
Everyone was floored. Sheba was sat silently, too stunned to speak. She had the spirit of Luna residing in her body her entire life. No wonder she didn't remember anything before age ten, she didn't have anything to remember. She turned to Felix, who was equally as shocked. Who would have guessed that he had been entrusted with the spirit of Sol? Even though so many questions were answered, Sheba still had more. What had become of all her memories of being Luna? Sheba thought about it again. Was she sure she wanted to remember so many sad things? The Cheiftain opened up a chest and pulled out an old staff. It was a simple staff made of wood, but it had ornate carvings all over it. When Sheba got a good look at it, she jolted unconsciously.
"This was Luna's most favorite staff, the one she used in the fight against the Wise One," he said, and placed it in her hands. It had scarcely touched her skin before a rush of images raced before her eyes and time seemed to stop. Everyone noted the change in Sheba's continence. Her eyes were opened wide and she was visibly trembling.
"Sheba..." Feizhi said coming out of her shocked stupor. Feizhi had known Sheba's past had great importance, but she had now idea how much so. The purple haired girl definitely did not know of how much pain the oracle's past self had to endure. The blonde girl closed her eyes and stood up and left the room. A short while later, her sobs began to echo down the hallway.
He played with her long hair affectionately. Sol always found ways to comfort Luna, even when times were grim. Right now, things were as grim as they get, for they were lying on a muddy, blood soaked battlefield with death and destruction all around. The smell of blood and victory permeated the air. The future for a time, would be bright for the rest of the world. However, for the two highest gods, the future was anything but. The time of their death was fast approaching. Luna felt tears form in her eyes. She would soon be parted with her loved one forever. If anything would console her melancholy spirit, it would be to know that Sol would live. Sol truly was one of a kind in more ways than one. He set aside his differences so they could stop the Wise One, and fought alongside her. In the process, they both strengthened the love that had been strained for so long. Now that their love was at it's strongest peak, they were going to die. Sol didn't seem phased at all by any of the horrible things happening. He only seemed to react to her feelings, and right now, his face was wrought with concern for her saddened look. He brought her face close to his as he began to wipe her tears.
"Someday we'll be together again, right, Luna my dear?" he said. Luna closed her eyes and sighed.
"Oh...Sol..." she whispered.
Sheba opened her eyes. She was in bed, with Felix's arms wrapped protectively around her. She listened quietly to the sound of his breathing. She found that it soothed her very much. After she had left the room the night before, she had to reflect on the entirety of what she had just learned. Her true past was abruptly brought back to mind and it took a while for the oracle to sort things through. Luna had good times, and down right horrible times. Sheba just couldn't fathom it all at once. However as soon as things became clearer, she knew exactly what she was going to do. Defeat the source of her and her lover's sadness, the Wise One.
"I will defy you," she whispered menacingly, "You will pay for my lover's pain."
Deep within the bowels of a dark castle the Wise One opened his green eye with a start. He could feel that he had been overcome, and it was then he knew his suppression of the oracle's power was broken. She was free from his grasp, and what was more, she knew of his treachery and deviousness. Something had to be done.
"Lord Babi!" he cried. The old man hobbled forth and kneeled before the stone.
"Yes, oh Wise One," he said.
"Do you truly wish to be immortal?" the stone boomed.
"Yes! Yes, more than anything!" Lord Babi said eagerly.
"Then you will kill Prince Felix before they are able to reawaken his memories," the Wise One ordered.
"Yes, as you wish," the old man replied.
"And light the rest of those lighthouses. The source of Sol and Luna's power lies within the Golden Sun! Do not forget!" the stone thundered. Lord Babi rose and pounded his staff on the ground. The dark warriors stood at attention. The elderly man pointed to one group.
"You all, go get the rest of those stars," he said and then turned to another group, "And you all, assassinate Prince Felix."
The dark followers nodded and left to do as they were bidden.
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Huzzah for Chapter 20. I love it so. I hope you enjoy! Reviews are nice and constructive criticism is accepted with open arms and an open mind.
Next Chapter: The Knightly Sol