Author's Note: Wow, this one beats "Enlightenment" as the longest chapter so far. Yays.
An entire day had passed, and Botta was amused to note that they weren't even finished with the story yet. Lord Yuan wasn't joking when he said that he would be back in a few days. I had no idea the history of the Kharlan War was so complicated!
The turning point in the story had come not long after the four heroes learned how to use their Cruxis Crystals. Mithos's newly awakened sensitivity allowed him to hear the voices of the Summon Spirits and through them he learned of the legacy left to him by his human ancestors: the ability to make pacts and summon. It was an ability that manifested rarely, and summoners were usually found quickly and used by the opposing countries as weapons. Mithos believed – correctly, as it happened – that if he could make pacts with all eight elemental Summon Spirits, the very ruler of Heaven and Earth might appear before him and offer his power to the companions for the sake of ending the war.
"With each Summon Spirit he found," said the Storyteller after describing the battle with Luna and Aska, "Mithos vowed to bring peace to the land and life to the Giant Kharlan Tree. It was on the basis of these vows that Origin, King of the Summon Spirits, came to take notice of the young boy. As Mithos had travelled to the stronghold of each Summon Spirit, challenging them where their power was the strongest, Origin began to send him dreams of a place Mithos had never seen in all his travels: a clearing next to a waterfall, surrounded by a calm forest.
"When he described these dreams to his companions, none of them recognized it from their travels. Forests they knew, and waterfalls, but the vegetation sounded unfamiliar to everyone except Martel, and she had never seen a waterfall in Torent Forest. Deciding it was better to follow a tenuous lead than to leave the mystery unsolved, the heroes travelled to the one town they had never been to in all their travels: Heimdall.
"Though the banishment of Martel and Mithos had stood for ten years, it had not been lessened by time. Martel begged and pleaded to be let in for the sole purpose of passing through, but the stubborn Council of Elders held to their position until Mithos, outraged by the insult to his beloved sister, called upon the Summon Spirits to display their power.
"They formed the shape of a circle with Mithos as their center and he once again demanded passage. This time, his voice was overlaid with a deep resonance that none of them had ever heard before, and those who looked at the hero saw now only his own form, but also that of a great four-armed being from the most beloved of elven legends: the shape of Origin himself.
"'Allow us to enter Torent Forest,' said Mithos with Origin's voice. 'We will bring no harm to the village. You have our word.'
"Shocked, the elves let the heroes pass. Kratos and Yuan tried to take in everything as they hurried through the village, but Martel was trying not to look. For her, the memories of her mother were still too powerful and returning to the village was a keen reminder of the life to which she was forbidden to return. Mithos, usually a receptacle for his sister's moods, was still smoldering with anger and power and did not see anything except the path in front of him.
"Once they entered Torent Forest proper, each relaxed in his or her own way. Mithos knew instinctively where they were going and Martel found that the forest hadn't forgotten her, nor she it. In the human lands where magitechnology ruled all, she had never felt connected to the land in the same way she did here in the elven forest. Yuan felt as ease in a way he hadn't since the encounter with Volt and even Kratos, a human with no skill for magic at all, could feel the power of this place. Here, at least, the mana from the Great Tree flowed strongly through the land.
"Before long the group came to the very waterfall Mithos had seen in his dreams, though Martel swore she had never seen this place before. There, in a clearing touched by the spray, was a circle of stones that radiated a great power. Cautiously, they approached it and were greeted with the sound of Origin's voice.
"I am Origin, said the voice, echoing in their minds. I have seen your dedication and I am impressed. I hold the power to stop the Kharlan War, but I am afraid it is too late for the Great Tree. Even now, it withers beyond the point of no return.
"'No!' exclaimed Martel. 'Without the Great Tree, the world will die!'
"'We cannot live without mana anymore than we could live without air,' said Yuan.
"'Has all our work been for nothing?' Kratos asked of the god (for so we elves revere Origin).
"Mithos remained silent, staring at the center of the circle.
"The mana began to swell, and before their eyes Origin showed himself to the four heroes. Looking at each of them in turn, he spoke, this time with a true voice and not in their minds. 'I would not have guided you here if there was nothing to be done,' he said gently. 'The Tree will die, but its Seed may yet sprout if peace can be obtained.'
"'Yes,' Mithos said. 'I understand. To each Summon Spirit I have vowed to revive the Great Kharlan Tree and bring an end to the war. Together with my sister and my friends, I want to save the world. Origin! Will you grant me your power?'
"Origin made a gesture, and before him appeared the form of a great sword shining with mana. 'When you have arranged a peace between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, bring their kings to the Holy Ground of Kharlan and have them sign a treaty. At that time, my power will flow into this sword and you will be able to use it to bind their treaty and use the power of all Summon Spirits to germinate the Great Seed. The Kharlan Tree will die, but in its place a new Tree will be born.' The sword, gift of Origin to Mithos the Hero, floated over to the young half-elf and merged with the form of Hakon Yggdrasill's sword. 'I grant you this power. Now make a vow to seal our pact.'
"'I vow to use this power for the good of the world, and to reestablish the world's mana so that no one will have to suffer again!'"
But Botta knew that he hadn't. He knew, with a certainty that threatened to make him sick, that it was Origin's sword that had been used to split the world in two and prevented the Great Seed from growing. Instead, he used Martel's Cruxis Crystal to merge her body with the Great Seed, using its mana to preserve her in a state between life and death…and he's spent more than three thousand years trying to bring her back from the dead. Yuan's words.
With a heavy heart, he listened to the Storyteller describe the final events of the war and Tethe'alla's last, desperate attempt to win: they used Thor's Hammer, the ultimate weapon, to obliterate the city of Midgard and leave nothing but a smoking crater in its place. Horrified, the heroes had allied with Sylvarant's king, destroyed the weapon, and forced Tethe'alla to its proverbial knees. Mithos brought both kings to the Great Tree and showed them that their actions had killed it.
"It was there that he demanded they sign a peace treaty lest the world be destroyed. Grudgingly, they obeyed and, true to his word, Origin's power began to flow into Mithos. In a final display of violence, the son of Tethe'alla's king used Mithos's distraction as a moment of opportunity and leapt at the young hero with a poisoned blade, but his attack missed.
"It hit Martel.
"'Martel!' cried Mithos. Turning to the assassin with a fiery gaze, he screamed, 'How could you?!'
"'Human!' growled an outraged Yuan, preparing for an attack. 'Your kind should not be allowed to live!'
"Even the stoic Kratos was outraged. 'How far are you willing to go to take control of the mana?' he demanded.
"'I'll never forgive you,' said Mithos. 'You humans are all the same!' And with that, he drew the Eternal Sword and used its power to blast the king's son into oblivion.
"'Mithos, stop!' coughed Martel. The blade had pierced a lung and not even her own healing arts could save her, but she chose to hasten her own death by pleading with her brother.
"'Leave us,' snarled Mithos to the delegations of both countries, and they did. Mithos dropped down and held his sister's hand in his own. Yuan held the other, the hand with the ring he'd given to her as a sign of his love. 'Martel, no,' Mithos pleaded, for once sounding like the boy he was.
"Martel closed her eyes and shook her head. 'I have to go now, Mithos,' she said softly. 'You must finish what we have begun. I would have liked to see a world without discrimination….' Her eyes glazed over, and she said no more.
"Martel Yggdrasill died under the tree she had loved, and it was in that moment that Mithos changed forever. Unable to accept his sister's death, he used his sword to freeze Martel in the very moment before her soul left her body.
"The kings of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla had each retreated to a space far from the Great Tree with their delegations, and they began to argue fervently. The king of Tethe'alla said the terms were unfair and that the treaty favored Sylvarant, while the king of Sylvarant was horrified at the action of the assassin prince. Suddenly a great noise came upon them and their mighty voices were drowned out.
"A wave of force struck the ground and all were knocked to their knees. When they got up, the delegation from Tethe'alla realized that no one from Sylvarant remained in sight, and the delegation from Sylvarant also found itself alone. The dead Tree was nowhere to be seen.
"From that day forth, the kingdoms of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla never met again. Mithos had split the very world in two, and in this way the treaty was kept and there was never a great war again."
The Storyteller fell silent. He had reached the end of his cloth.
"But what happened then?" asked Botta, on the edge of his seat.
The Storyteller looked up, smiling sadly. "Why, then the three remaining heroes founded Cruxis, the organization that guides the world. Kratos abandoned his human identity when he chose to act as a seal for Origin. If Kratos should ever die, Origin would no longer be bound to Mithos, and thus he was also the first to undergo the angel transformation. Yuan was paralyzed by grief and gladly nullified part of his own Key Crest to inhibit his emotional response, becoming a heartless angel who proposed they use a bloodline of magical humans to act as sacrifices in order to resurrect Martel. And Mithos made himself a legend, abandoning his old name to identify himself only as Lord Yggdrasill.
"And so they remain to this day. Some time ago, Yuan was convinced to restore his emotions, but he has not graced me with that story and I do not know if he ever will."
Botta closed his eyes. "Thank you. For telling me the story, I mean."
"That is why the Storyteller exists." Botta felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see the Storyteller still smiling at him. "Thank you for listening."
Botta nodded and stifled a yawn. Once again it was very late and he had lost track of time. "I had better get to sleep."
The Storyteller waved and began to fold up the Mana Leaf Cloth. "Sleep well, young one, for who knows what the morrow may bring?"
Botta knew. Yuan was coming back tomorrow.