The Broken Seal

by Hawki

GS1 Novelization: The seal has been broken. The world is threatned by alchemy. Heroes rise, ancient powers stir and the world begins to change. The story of Weyard begins here... Discontinued

25. Winter's Herald

Golden Sun: The Broken Seal

Chapter 23: Winter's Herald

Garet hated snow.

It was a fact that the Mars adept often expressed, or at least often when snow was present or when the subject of it was brought up, usually in the onset of winter. With the end of autumn approaching, it was "that time of year" again.

For reasons Garet could never understand, or at least didn't agree with, the bulk of Vale's population appreciated the supposed beauty of winter. True, it meant that there were smaller crop yields, but Vale's soil was highly productive, so much so that if it wasn't for the town's self-imposed isolation, it had the potential to be an economic hub of agricultural products. Winter was rarely, if ever seen as a hindrance.

However, according to Kraden at least, who had poured over the town's weather records (which dated back a few centuries), winters were slowly but steadily becoming more severe. For the average Valean farmer, this meant likely hardship for future generations. For Garet, this meant more months of each year where he had to bear with the detestable white substance that was snow, not to mention the brown slush that it turned into when spring finally arrived.

There were many reasons why Garet disliked the white sand that fell from the sky, the principle reason among them was that it was nothing more but water in crystallised, solid form. Perhaps he indeed had hydrophobia (or whatever that prat Felix had called it in their early childhood); a fear of water, but Garet didn't consider this to be the case. He simply disliked water because it wet, cold, gave you the flu if you spent too much time in it and was the substance used in…ugh, baths.

Snow had all of these features, not to mention the added disadvantage of being used in snowball fights, in which Garet was usually on the receiving end. It was hard to walk through also, sometimes so much that it would prevent him and his friends from heading outside to do anything. While Felix had no doubt relished such times, in which he could engross himself in whatever piece of literature he was reading, such circumstances had the potential to send Garet, not to mention Jenna for that matter insane.

Therefore, given all the disadvantages that snow brought, Garet found himself disliking his current circumstances. True, it was bad enough that he and Isaac had been given a task by a sanctimonious floating boulder and that Jenna (and Kraden for that matter) had been kidnapped, but to top it off, the Mars adept found himself walking across snow that had settled over the plains north of Vault. It wasn't so deep that it hindered Garet's pace or even Isaac's, but it still ensured that you received a cold, wet rear whenever you sat down. Sleeping was even more unpleasant, the cold ground adding to the unpleasant experience of morning's chill.

Matters hadn't been alleviated by the fact that bands of vermin, similar to the ones encountered in Sol Sanctum except slightly more savage and more hungry for blood, had attacked Garet and Isaac three of four times a day on average. Each time the two adepts had been able to see them off, although what had started as a serries of slightly tense experiences with the possible advantage that it was increasing the two teens' martial prowess, had become nothing more than a dreary, unappealing experience. Whenever a band of the bipedal rodents had shown up, Garet had suppressed the urge to groan.

Garet failed to see any silver lining to his current circumstances or a bronze one for that matter. He could only faintly hope that Saturos and Menardi were experiencing the same unpleasant circumstances, but even if this were the case it was 'cold comfort'; whatever the two murderers experienced would be experienced by Jenna also, and given their sadistic natures, probably more so.

"You know what?" said Garet to no-one in particular, simply just voicing his thoughts. "This really sucks."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Garet."

Garet blinked, initially unsure as to who had spoken up. A second later however, after he'd remembered that he'd indeed spoken aloud, he realised that Isaac had heard the Mars adept's complaints and responded to them. Still, it was to be expected. That was how Isaac tended to operate in conversation. While the Venus adept was not often the one to start vocal interaction, he could still converse normally after it had begun. Kind of like Felix, except for the fact that the traitor bookworm only joined in the conversation half the time.

Garet decided to maintain what he had inadvertently started, not wanting to remain in silence; "still, we're hanging in there, aren't we?"

Isaac merely grunted, his back turned to Garet from his position a few metres in front of him. Garet raised an eyebrow, not liking the awkwardness that was descending upon him. Still, he decided to press on;

"So... we're heading for Goma Pass, right?"

Isaac chuckled; "Garet, you're hopeless at this." Garet opened his mouth to respond but Isaac cut him off, turning his head around to face his friend; "Still, you've got the right idea. Silence isn't always golden after all."

"Yeah, the sun is," answered Garet, glad that Isaac seemed to be responding. "Pity it isn't showing right now."

"Probably won't for awhile," said Isaac, looking up at the bleak grey clouds above them, which were, for now at least, not releasing more snow. Isaac didn't possess the same dislike of the substance that Garet did, but given that the more snow that piled on the plains the slower their trudging would become, not to mention that it would make sleep even more unpleasant, the Venus adept wasn't about to ask for any more of the crystallised water to drop from the sky.

"Feels weird though," said Isaac eventually. "Not having Ivan with us."

"Ivan?" asked Garet in surprise. "What about him?"

Isaac sighed; "It's just…strange, given how we're a party of two instead of three."

"I beg your pardon?" asked a voice in Isaac's mind.

"Go back to sleep Flint."

Garet raised an eyebrow; "Strange? In what way?"

"Garet, think about it," said Isaac, feeling awkward in that he was putting forward thoughts that he knew stemmed only from wishful thinking, yet felt compelled to do so. "We meet a Jupiter Adept, perhaps the only one left in Weyard. We fight thieves, share information, and then simply…part ways."

Garet shook his head; Isaac could be an idealist sometimes, being capable of believing in things like fate, destiny and numerous other terms that stemmed from fantasy stories. Still, given recent events, it was perhaps understandable; talking, floating rocks that had enough psynergy to hold back an eruption could have that effect on people.

"You think fate separated us or something?" Garet asked, wanting his friend to realise that it was folly to dwell on past events. It had taken roughly a year for Isaac to fully recover from the effects of the storm. While Garet had willingly stood by his friend over that period of time and felt no resentment, he had no wish for the experience to be repeated in Isaac moping over what could have been a friendship with a blonde midget.

Isaac shrugged; "Maybe. Still, it's probably just wishful thinking." Disappointment was still evident in his voice. Garet's irritation rose;

"Come on, snap out of it," he said forcefully. "Even if Ivan had decided to tag along, it's not as if we needed him." He let out a cheesy grin that betrayed his overconfidence; "We're perfectly capable of defeating Saturos and his crew by ourselves."

Isaac stopped dead in his tracks, the air around him seemingly becoming even colder. Garet knew his friend well enough to know that something had snapped in his fellow adept, but had no idea what. True, Isaac had been mopey over what he probably perceived as a lost opportunity, but he saw no reason for the backlash that followed as Isaac spun around, his sky blue eyes blazing with inner fire;

"Under what basis is that?" Isaac snarled. "Is your usual overconfidence turning into stupidity?"

"Not as much as your depression is turning you into a moody bastard," Garet answered simply, his hand straying to his battle sword. True, Isaac was the unofficial leader of the duo (well, three if one included Flint, but Garet had no intention of doing so) and Garet accepted that, but he was damned if he'd talked down by someone who was not only eight months younger than himself, but was letting events remove confidence and instead replace them with depression.

"Let's look at some facts," snarled Isaac, taking a step forward. "We're up against two exceptionally powerful mars adepts, both of which presumably possess great martial prowess. To top it off, they're aided by an old friend of ours, one whom I refuse to treat purely as an enemy and another adept who can teleport and seemingly defy the laws of gravity. And if things weren't bad enough, they have Jenna and Kraden, who in addition to making their lives hell, can use as bargaining chips!"

"Your point being?" Garet asked calmly, not seeing much of a problem with the situation, apart from Jenna's status in it (and Kraden too for that matter).

"My point, is that we have nothing to match that," said Isaac, seemingly on the verge of using his blade. Not that his hand had reached for it, but the intent was evident to even his fellow Valean.

Garet snorted; "Nothing to match that? Have you been paying attention at all to what's been going on so far?"

"Of course," said Isaac calmly. "We've faced groups of vermin, all of which were seemingly driven by desperation more than anything else, a horde of brainless zombies and three bandits, two of which were only armed with knives. Hardly a true test of mettle."

Garet would have liked to have pointed out that the vermin in Sol Sanctum moved with purpose, the zombies had numbered around fifty and that the bandits had been accompanied by a man with a custom made sabre, but decided that that wasn't the best counterargument. Still, that didn't mean he was about to let Isaac settle into melodramatic self doubt. Far from it.

"What about all those mock swordfights we had in Vale?" Garet asked. "Surely they count for something."

"Garet, is your brain deprived of oxygen of something!?" Isaac exclaimed. "Those swordfights may have honed our skills to a degree, but what real competition was there!? Felix couldn't last five minutes in any fight before falling down crying and Jenna only used her staff when she was hitting you for the idiocy that you constantly display! I-…"

"Alright, calm down!" exclaimed a voice. With a small flash of white light, Flint appeared between the two adepts, both of which seemingly intent on murder. Although he lacked the facial features that humans possessed, his concern was still evident.

"Stay out of this Flint," Isaac growled, not even giving the djinn a glance, purely focussed on Garet, an individual who, if things carried on the way they did, would have the position of "former friend."

"Trust me, I'd love to," said Flint, displaying a seriousness that was in stark contrast to the usual perkiness the flying critter displayed. "Still, before you continue, you may want to take a glance towards Goma Range."

Although both Isaac and Garet saw no reason to engage in sightseeing, namely looking at a mountain range that had constantly been in their sights ever since leaving Vault, they complied, turning simultaneously to face the range that, they only just realised, was only about four kilometres away. What truly caught their eye, was the fact that yet another group of vermin, this time not only numbering around ten, but including a 'mad one'; vermin that, according to Kraden, were naturally infused with 'passive psynergy', thus making them faster and stronger than the bulk of their brethren.

Garet sighed as he drew this sword, such a prospect not being as exciting as he thought it would have been.

This shit was getting old.

XXXX

Three hours, four kilometres and several dead vermin later, Isaac, along with Garet, found himself at the base of Goma Range. Hardly a word had been spoken between the two adepts in this time, but they both knew it could have been worse, that their blood could have stained the snow rather than that of the homicidal rodents that had attacked them.

Still, blood was thicker than nectar, and although the two adepts were not related, shedding blood together and cementing their comradeship may have been preferable to the cool conditions that separated them, a frostiness that matched that of the snow around them. Given all that was at stake, that such friendship was perhaps one of the few advantages that the Valeans possessed over their foes, if any, it prompted the question as to whether such circumstances were thaw like winter's snow or be locked in for eternity.

Such a question may have been pressing to an all-seeing observer, an individual who had Weyard's best interests at heart, but in actual fact it was the last thing on Isaac and Garet's minds. In part, there was a subconscious recognition in both of the boys that dwelling over such strained relations would probably only strain them further and it was best to "forgive and forget", if such a thing was indeed possible. However, there was a far larger, more pressing reason for their lack of thought on the issue;

Goma Range.

It was one of those rare cases in the world where a chain of mountains looked more magnificent up close than from a distance. Slightly unusual, of course, given that snow topped mountains always radiate grandeur from a distance when, up close, all one can see is bland rock, but it was not such snow that had caught the adepts' attention. Why would it? They'd seen enough of the damned white substance to last them a lifetime.

Rather, it was the…perfection that the range gave off. Geology was a subject that even Kraden knew precious little about, but from what he had understood and through him, his students, it was that processes such as uplift had no plan to them, were completely haphazard.

Yet Goma Range, with its smooth walls, flat crags and overall grandeur was an exception. It was as if someone, or something, had come over with a chisel and removed any imperfections, leaving a work of art that, while tailored, was one with nature. It was…magnificent.

Yet even what could have been the greatest work of art that Weyard's sons and daughters had ever produced had not been infallible against nature, given that such a work of art had one perceivable flaw, a flaw that not only reduced its aesthetic quality, but its utilitarian value as well;

Goma Pass had been blocked by a landslide.

"What the hell just happened here?" Garet asked, the question coming out as a growl. Already fuming from the melodramatic idiocy that Isaac had shown earlier, it was no surprise that he was looking at the rubble with the wishful intent to burn it to such an extent that it would be reduced to a liquid state.

"Damned if I know," Isaac murmured, walking over to the pile of rocks that had sealed Goma Pass, the route that, according to the map Los had given them, was the only conventional route through the mountains that hadn't fallen into disrepair. Was the map out of date? Had Los intentionally misled them? Or had the collapse occurred only recently?

The first option was impossible to say; the only locations marked on the map that Isaac and Garet had passed through were Vale and Vault, and somehow Isaac doubted that they could really change with the times as much as nature could. Fall into disrepair maybe, but not simply be removed from the world. And while the two Valeans had yet to visit places marked on the map such as Xian and Tolbi and were not aware of their locations before receiving the map that Los gave them, they had heard of such places from Kraden and were certain that, at the very least, they existed. Or had once done so. Kraden was old enough.

The second option was equally impossible to tell; true, there was nothing about Los that had really suggested that he meant them harm, but then again, there was nothing to suggest that he was truly their friend either. True, he could have probably defeated the two teens easily, his martial prowess superior to theirs, but he had requested that Saturos and Menardi be left alive…a sign of allegiance with the thieves perhaps? Or a sign of something more sinister?

Isaac shook his head; in terms of where those involved in this mess stood, it was best to regard Los as a third party, an outsider to the inevitable confrontation with Saturos and Menardi. Kind of like a case of the good, the bad and the unknown.

So what of the third option? Isaac cast his eyes over the rubble, straying to the side of the cliff where it had seemingly originated from. The cliff face certainly led credence to what was visible for all to see, a gouge present in the strata that stood in contrast to the rest of the mountain range. Still, that didn't really answer the question as to whether it was natural or human induced.

"Flint? What do you make of this?" Isaac asked, hoping that the Venus djinn would be able to find out what had exactly happened.

No answer.

"Flint?" asked Isaac, a little more forcefully. Having been exposed to the djinn's wisecracking for the last week or so, such silence was unusual.

"Huh?" came a voice, unusually distant.

"I asked what you made of this."

"Of what?"

"The landslide!" Isaac exclaimed, almost shouting it verbally. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Hmm?" asked Flint, turning his attention to the landslide (at least Isaac hoped that was the case). "Oh right. The landslide."

"Any idea what caused it?" Isaac asked.

"Not really," Flint murmured. "There's a faint residue of Venus psynergy, but that could be natural. There's not enough evidence either way."

"Wow, you're a great help," Isaac thought to himself, not caring if Flint heard such thoughts or not.

"Hey Isaac, what's taking ya?" called out Garet impatiently. "Can't you move the rocks or something?"

"Garet, take a look at those boulders," snapped Isaac, frustrated not only at Flint's lack of help, but also at the actual fact that the boulders were there. "Does it look like I can move all that?"

"Um…yes?" Garet asked, not fazed by the fact that several tonnes of rock were blocking Goma Pass.

Isaac sighed; "Garet, you're an idiot."

Garet's eyes flared dangerously, the Mars adept taking a step towards Isaac; "Fine words from someone who can't be bothered to try and clear some rubble."

"Or I'm not stupid enough to try," said Isaac calmly. Noticing that Garet seemed to be going for his sword, Isaac quickly continued speaking;

"Still, it's not all bad. All we have to do is find an alternate route."

"A what?" Garet asked, gazing up at the range. "Isaac, all the routes apart from this one have fallen into disrepair."

"Not entirely true," said Isaac smugly. "I checked the map last night. There's another route about one kilometre east from here, an ancient passage that leads through the interior of the mountains. It's called Goma Cave. It should get us to Bilbin."

Garet raised a finger to his chin, torn between asserting himself over his comrade and going along with his plan. True, Isaac may have been showing himself to be a lazy git, but it would still take time to move all those boulders and probably even longer for the weakling to recover his strength. The end result would be that they would catch up to Saturos and Menardi later rather than sooner, thus forcing Jenna to spend even more time in their clutches. Garet sighed; Isaac could be obstinate sometimes, but he did have a point…

"Alright," Garet said eventually. "But I know I'm going to regret this."

XXXX

Garet regretted it.

If he had expressed such sentiments out aloud, one may have been surprised to hear them. After all, around an hour after realising that Goma Pass had been blocked by a landslide, the Mars Adept had found himself at the entrance to Goma Cave, a passage that, as far as he could see, had not been blocked by a landslide of rocks. He was therefore free to progress in his journey, save the world and reap the benefits.

Of course, such thoughts would stem from ignorance, namely not knowing that Garet had climbed one hundred metres up a series of ledges that, while stable, had not been easy to ascend. True, most of Garet's bulk was muscle, but that didn't make him any less heavy. Coupled with the fact that the laws of gravity could be bitchy at times, it was no surprise that, having finally completed the thirty minute climb, the Mars adept was lying on the top ledge breathing heavily, sweat running down his forehead and saturating his clothing.

"You…sure that…was… a…shortcut?" Garet asked in between breaths.

"I never said it was a shortcut, just an alternate route," Isaac answered, lying against the cliff face. He too was exhausted, but due to his lighter physique, not as much as his comrade. It was due to this that he was able to stand up after a few minutes, a contrast to Garet who had progressed from lying on the ground and was now sitting on it.

"Anyway, the cave's right by us," said Isaac, walking over. "We should be able to…"

"What?" asked Garet, getting up. The query soon evaporated in his mind however, once he viewed what Isaac did;

The entrance to the cave was…pathetic, a passage that could only allow one person at a time to enter, its arch only being around four feet. And because of such a lack of grandiose design, it had allowed an ivy bound stump to block it.

"What the hell?" Garet asked. "What in Sol's name is a log doing up here?"

Isaac remained silent, yet inwardly asking the same question; what had happened? How had a log found its way up here on a ledge one hundred metres above the ground? The remanets of a tree perhaps? Unlikely; from what Isaac remembered from Kraden's lessons, trees dropped their seeds into the soil below, not lob them one hundred metres to a cliff section where the soil would be less productive.

But however likely the alternative was, that someone had placed the log in front of the cave deliberately, it still didn't the answer the question as to why. Why would someone block the entrance, especially in light of Goma Pass being blocked? Why would someone seek to stop people going the same route that they were?

"Because they don't want to followed," thought Isaac, coming to the conclusion that had been staring him in the face all along…

Saturos and Menardi.

Isaac clenched his fist angrily; true, sealing a cave was perhaps not a crime as great as causing the deaths of innocent people or seeking to return alchemy to the world for their own twisted ends, but the sealing clearly demonstrated that they were still clearly willing to pursue their goal regardless of what such a pursuit might cost the world and those in it. Isaac's gaze narrowed, such callousness clear for all to see.

Apart from Garet of course.

"Well this is just fantastic!" Garet exclaimed. "You're too lazy to move a few boulders so you lead us up here instead! Now thanks to you, we've wasted even more time! Saturos and Menardi are probably on the other side of the continent by now!"

"Garet, is it possible for you to develop an argument without it being inherently flawed!?" Isaac sneered, frustrated not only at the roadblock that the thieves had caused, but also at Garet's inability to see more than two feet in front of him. "I'm too lazy to move boulders, yet have enough willpower to climb one hundred metres?"

Garet snorted; "Sounds like you chose the easier option."

"Brave words from someone who could barely breathe by the end of it." Garet went to make another rebuke but Isaac cut him off; "Anyway, what does it matter? We'll simply move the stump."

Garet made a sarcastic bow; "Be my guest."

Fuming, Isaac went about to do just that. The log was bulky, but Isaac had moved far worse back in Sol Sanctum. Moving a simple block of wood should be no problem.

At least in theory.

With that, he started using his psynergy to move the log, instantly realising that he may have been overconfident. The log was seemingly infused with psynergy also, although what kind Isaac couldn't identify…not earth, not fire, but something in-between Still, that wasn't the main problem. What was the main problem was that this psynergy was seemingly resisting Isaac's own, preventing the Venus adept from exerting any influence over the lump of wood.

Five minutes, many taunts and litres of sweat later, Isaac drew off, gasping for breath; "It's no good," he said, attempting to wipe his sweat away. "I can't move it."

"Aww, poor baby," sneered Garet, stepping forward. "Stand aside, Isaac. I'll deal with this."

Isaac was about to point out that Garet's ability with psynergy had never been particularly impressive, with the ability to move things psyenergeticly being no exception. However, such thoughts weren't expressed, given that Garet didn't try to move the log. Instead, he carried out an action far more suited to his nature;

Burn it.

Isaac would have never admitted it, but the display actually impressed him; fire extended from Garet's outstretched hand, engulfing the log and the vines that bound it in Mars's fury, demonstrating the might of fire psynergy, reducing the log to…

Well, not reducing it at all actually.

"What the hell?" Garet murmured, beholding his handicraft, or rather the lack of it. True, the log had been scorched black and the vines removed, but both effects were slowly being reversed. In half a minute, the log had been returned to its former state.

"This isn't natural," Isaac whispered. "Even for Saturos and Menardi."

"So?" Garet asked, trying to maintain an air of confidence. "If psynergy doesn't work, we'll simply hack away at it."

"Garet, it withstood an inferno!" Isaac exclaimed, his friend's slowness getting to him; "Do you really think a sword is going to do anything?"

"Not from your hand at least."

Isaac sighed; it was a strange irony that while Garet had at first been reluctant to come up to the Cave Entrance, he was now seemingly willing to stay up here and do whatever it took to enter said cave. Pride, rather than rationality, was dominating the Mars adept's brain, or at least what passed for one.

"Fine, go ahead and do that," said Isaac neutrally, glancing down at the bottom of the cliff face and feeling tempted to give in to vertigo to remove himself from this idiocy; "Let me know when you've agreed to stop wasting time.

Garet's eyes flared dangerously; "Waste time? That's a bit rich from the person who led us up here!"

"Garet, is your mind as dead as those boulders blocking the pass!?" Isaac exclaimed. "If I'd spent time trying to shift them, Saturos and Menardi would have already unleashed alchemy by the time I was through."

"So basically you're either lazy or incompetent?" Garet sneered.

"Better brain than brawn," Isaac answered simply. "Which is more than I can say for you, you…"

"You…what?" Garet asked, seeing that Isaac had trailed off for some reason, seemingly at a loss for words. Not only that, but his line of sight was no longer on him, instead, his gaze going past the Mars adept, his face registering a state of surprise. Despite all his misgivings, he followed suit, immediately understanding why Isaac was surprised, considering that he was viewing one of the last people he expected to see, an individual which, for all he knew, could be the last Jupiter adept in the world…

"You…want to move the stump, right?" asked Ivan timidly.

XXXX

"Damit, DAMIT, DAMIT!"

Not exactly the most eloquent display of frustration, but for Los, it summed up such feelings adequately. After all, when one rides to the Goma Range after having faced mounted bandits and accompanied by a Jupiter adept who…well, best not to there, having the pass that can take you north blocked was the last thing you wanted.

"How the hell did this happen?" Los wondered, gazing over the boulders and even larger pieces of rock that had sealed up the pass. "If the pass was on the verge of collapse, I surely would have known about it…right?"

He shook the thoughts away, instead falling into the distraction that reflection brought. Perhaps waiting in Vault may not have been such a bad idea. True, Ivan had said that the bridge had collapsed, making the waters of the Rasoul River there nearly impassable, the smooth base of the river, coupled with its deepness, making it dangerous to cross.

Not that this had been an issue for Los before, and he was bitterly aware of it. Without truly thinking, he'd headed for the northern route from the start, supposedly wanting the solitude, but actually intent on heading to Imil, taking Nalu's words to heart, ready to find the-…

Los shook it off; "I'm not going to Imil," he reminded himself. "I'm simply going to head east from Bilbin, deal with any adept I come across, get a promotion for my trouble, confront Marcel and-…"

He trailed off; confronting Marcel over his account of the events in Prox…didn't that imply that he believed Nalu to an extent? A few days ago, he would have thought not; his rescuing of Ivan, while the right thing to do (well, in a sense), was really sparked by a case of déjà vu from Marcel's version of events, the act of malicious individuals bearing down on a good and righteous person.

Well, Ivan may not have been good and righteous but even so…

Los shook his head; the Kalayan servant may have been an individual who bore a phyric, yet noticeable similarity to someone that he and the rest of the Rouge Sages despised, but his presence had allowed less self reflection and recollection, thus allowing Nalu's words, and the idea of following his advice, to slip to the back of Los's mind.

"He can't be trusted," Los thought to himself, perhaps only for self assurance. "I don't have time to make detours to winter locked, backwater towns. I've got more important things to do." His gaze swept over the landslide; "Like getting to Bilbin for example."

Los wasn't exactly the person to say no to risk, but he wasn't suicidal either, despite what the drinking bout back in Vale may have demonstrated. As such, he was not willing to try crossing the boulders; one wrong step could see him wound up with a broken ankle, a prospect that, with the unstable debris, was more likely than he cared for.

Resisting the urge to go on another "damit!" session or the use of even more colourful language, Los considered his options; walking back to Vault and waiting for the bridge to be fixed was perhaps an option, but one that he wasn't particularly fond of; having initially been overcome with confidence as to his ability to cross the unstable ground, Los had sent the horse he'd taken from the Lunpan soldiers galloping back to Vault, hoping that it could have a better life than that of a military steed. As such, he was stuck on foot and a week's walk back to Vault was not particularly appealing, especially since there was the distinct possibility that Dodonpa's bandits would be out in force after he realised that the group sent to apprehend Ivan had failed.

"But what other option is there?" Los wondered. "The pass is blocked is blocked and all the others are in an even worse state. There's no other route except…"

Los slowly glanced to the east, the route that would take him to Goma Cave. Assuming that the legends were true, travelling through those tunnels would be tantamount to suicide. And even if they weren't, Los wasn't particularly keen on doing so; caves, mystic or not, were dangerous and there was the added fact that Ivan was travelling through it. Los still wasn't in the market for company, especially that of the psynergetic kind. And while being the first human to travel through the cave in 2,600 years, Los wasn't inclined to risk his neck to reap the benefits.

But what other option was there? Vault would take too long in both travel and the time it took to repair its bridge, and travelling through the pass was too reckless. Sighing, Los studied himself; leather armour, two shortswords that he was beginning to wonder if they were really suited for him (he wouldn't be surprised, he'd never had a choice when it came to choosing weapons, having trained with them since he was five) and a pistol with only two shots.

"And to think this started as a simple trip to pay off that fat innkeeper," Los thought to himself. "I guess this proves that one has to expect the unexpected."

Silently, he made his choice. Tightening his belt, loosening his scabbards and pulling back the lock on the pistol, the traveller made his way to Goma Cave, resolved to get to the lands of Bilbin and then…well, he'd decide once he reached it.

If the legends were true, if he truly was walking into a mirror of hell, its minions would find Los ready.

XXXX

Isaac was not sure where the phrase déjà vu came from (probably some ancient language) and despite having a liking for knowledge on the general level, he'd never bothered to inquire. It was one of those phrases that had simply made its way into common language, kind of like "by the gods!", the phrase standing in contrast that Sol was the only god that Vale really knew of. Perhaps there had been other deities that had been worshipped in the past, but it wasn't something that Kraden had really ever touched upon.

Right now however, Isaac certainly did want to know where the word had originated from, given that it was now slapping him in the face. What with his current situation, with Ivan mysteriously appearing behind them, despite saying that he'd be going to Lunpa, it was reminiscent of Felix's reappearance in Sol Sanctum's Star Chamber, an experience that Isaac didn't want repeated. Ever.

Still, that didn't stop the fact that Ivan was standing here eerily and that déjà vu was becoming an unpleasant concept.

"Ivan? What are you doing here?" Garet asked. An obvious question perhaps, but one that was ultimately necessary. "Weren't you heading to Lunpa?"

Regret clouded Ivan's features, making Garet almost guilty for asking; "I…couldn't get into Lunpa."

It was now Garet's turn to be uneasy, casting a look that conveyed this to Isaac. Isaac wasn't completely forthcoming though, his look of unease matching Ivan's, such unease stemming from the fact that he'd have to turn down the inevitable request for help that would come from the-…

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't come here to ask for help!" exclaimed Ivan, throwing up his hands in defence. "I…I came to help you two."

"Help us?" Garet asked. "But what about-…"

"Hammet can wait," said Ivan firmly, noticeably leaving out the word "master." "Your task is far more important than servant-master bonds."

"But-…"

"I read your minds back in Vault, I saw what happened in Vale, what couldhappen to the world!" Ivan snapped, catching both Isaac and Garet off guard with his conviction, something that he hadn't demonstrated back in Vault. His face softened; "Please. If I can't help Hammet, let me at least help you two."

Garet once again looked towards Isaac for direction, willing to let his friend, despite his recent faulty decisions, handle the one that was presented to them. Isaac sighed mentally, not liking the choice that was presented to him; on one hand, Ivan would be a useful asset, given his power over the wind and his ability to read minds. Also, he was an interesting individual, one that, if he hadn't already done so, would quickly fit into Isaac's shortening list of friends. Garet was being irrationally, Felix had betrayed Vale and all it stood for, Jenna…

On the other, Ivan was younger than they were, not as experienced in fighting and the servant of what Isaac made out to be the wealthiest merchant lord in all of Angara. If anything happened to the little squirt, Isaac would probably have to deal with more than just guilt.

Isaac sighed, appreciating the paradox; he understood himself well enough to understand that when it came to conversation he was reactionary, not being one to start a dialogue but, unlike Felix, not instinctively intent on breaking away from it. When it came to calling the shots in this little insane adventure however, he preferred to plan things by his own discretion, not to react to things that came his way. Still, if Ivan was merely going to be the first of many such choices presented to him, Isaac appreciated that he'd probably have to start breaking out of the mould. Now was as good a time as any.

"Sure," Isaac murmured non-commitedly. "You can tag along."

"Ditto," said Garet, sizing the initiative that Isaac had given him and giving Ivan a 'friendly' slap on the back to prove it.

"Thanks guys," said Ivan, resisting the urge to rub his back where Garet's hand had landed. "You won't regret this."

"Good," said Garet. "You can prove this by moving the log there."

Ivan's gaze shifted to the piece of wood that had blocked the cave's entrance, the piece of wood that had, for some reason, set Isaac and Garet at each other's throats. A small, somewhat rebellious part of his mind asked why they were asking him to do it when they could probably do it themselves, but he shrugged him off; if Isaac and Garet were going to fully trust, he'd probably have to prove his worth fully, the log being just the thing to do so. Also, he was a servant. He was used to following orders.

"Garet, what are you doing?" Isaac hissed.

"Huh?"

"Neither of us can move that log, and letting Ivan fail isn't going to…oh."

Both Valeans watched in awe as Ivan used his Jupiter psynergy to cast a whirlwind, its force concentrated over the woodblock. With astonishing swiftness, the vines were removed, caught up in the miniature hurricane and sent hurtling down to the ground below. All a prelude however, to the less swift yet equally impressive display of the log being lifted off the ground and hurled downwards to the constricting flora that had once bound it.

Isaac and Garet stared in awe even after the display was over, unable to comprehend what had just happened; how had Ivan been able to deal with the log so easily when not only had Isaac failed to move it, but when it had also withstood Garet's fire psynergy? True, Ivan's psynergetic prowess was impressive, perhaps even exceeding that of the Valeans, but even so…

Isaac shook it off, facing Ivan, who was looking at them quizzically; "Nice," Isaac said simply. Not exactly the most eloquent compliment, but it seemed to pay off given that Ivan seemed to be slightly less puzzled;

"No problem," he said. He gestured to the cave; "Anyway, you said back in Vault that you were headed to Bilbin. Might as well get going." With that, he walked into the darkness of the cave.

"Since when did he take the role of leader?" Garet whispered to Isaac.

"Hell if I know, but he's welcome to it," answered the Venus adept, still having trouble comprehending what had just happened.

Garet smirked; "Good choice."

With that, Garet walked after Ivan, leaving Isaac to follow. At least that's how it would have worked in theory, if Isaac had not simply just stood there;

"That stump wasn't natural in either existence or location," Isaac thought to himself. "It withstood whatever Garet or I threw at it, yet Ivan was able to remove it easily." He shook his head; how had it happened? Was the log distinctly strong against some forms of psynergy and weak against others? Under normal circumstances Isaac would have appreciated the absurdity of pondering about such a simple object, but given the circumstances, Isaac was not inclined to see much humour, what with freaky pieces of wood, the fact that he and Garet were having their friendship strained when unity was needed most and the unanswered question as to how Ivan had been able to catch up to them so quickly.

"Any ideas Flint?" Isaac asked. "Were you able to detect anything weird psyenergeticly, like when we entered Vault?"

No answer.

"Flint?" asked Isaac again, this time a little more forcefully.

Silence.

"FLINT!"

"WHAT!?"

As forceful as Isaac's third attempt to get the djinn's attention had been, the flying fur ball's had left it in the shade, so powerful that Isaac felt as if someone had smashed a rock on his head. Not quite the case, but with what felt like a headache drawing on, it might as well have been.

"What is it?" Flint asked, sounding extremely irritated.

"I asked what you made out of the log and Ivan's psynergy," Isaac asked, with irritation to match that of the djinn. He began casting healing psynergy onto his forehead in the vain hope that it would reduce the pain that the pounding in his head was causing. Given the lacklustre results, "vain" was a suitable word.

"Huh?" Flint asked. "Who showed up?"

"Ivan!" Isaac shouted. "He removed the log blocking the entrance less than five minutes ago!"

"Really?" Flint asked, his tone that of an individual who's trying to sound interested but failing miserably. "That was nice of him."

"Flint I…" Isaac trailed off, aware that any threat to Flint while he was linked with his mind was useless. The entire conversation reeked of yet another case of déjà vu, and Isaac had experienced enough of that for one day.

"Fine, I give up," he murmured, rubbing his forehead and heading towards the cave entrance as he did so.

Flint didn't hear a word, nor did he take any notice of Isaac's entry into the cave. Rather, his mind was occupied with one single thing, something that had kept him occupied ever since they'd neared the Goma Range. Something that had become increasingly intense as they drew closer, prompting him to shut off from the outside world. A faint, familiar psynergetic signature…

"Is it possible?" Flint wondered, letting the seed of hope slither into his very spirit.

"Could she be here?"

XXXX

A/N

Ok, yet another long wait for this chapter, but this could become a regular occurrence, so no fanfare. Anyway, as I stated, there were a few retcons and adjustments that I had to make, which accounts in part for the long wait. Anyway, here's said list;

-Prologue and Chapter 1 revised.

-Los's travel time to Vale has been corrected to 2 months, thus keeping in key with geography and distance.

-Vani's dialogue on Vale and Dale has been altered to better fit fanon history.

-The 'leader djinn' names have been altered to;

Atum (Venus): Egyptian god of the earth, later became associated with the sun (a little tie-in with his interaction with Sol).

Sethlans (Mars): Alternate name for Hephaestus, the Greek god of the forge. I wanted to use Hephaestus from the start, but Heph had already taken it.

Anu (Jupiter): Sumerian sky god.

Tethys (Mercury): Greek sea titaness.

-The Valean kid Sean is far too minor to really bother with a retcon. I'll probably include reference to the parallel, but as a simple blunder, "retroactive continuity" is probably too extreme.

-Nephlim's dialogue to Kite has been altered subtlety. Ohh, plot hint.

-"Elemental War" has been changed to "Alchemy Wars." Based on game info, it seems unlikely that there was one single war over alchemy, but was instead based on constant strife to control alchemy.

-Giving one of The Five a female name (Matsu, Chinese goddess of the sea), was a pretty stupid act. Let's face it, males, especially those clad fully in armour and all 'evil looking' can convey menace better. Hence the conversion to Triton (Greek god who was the son of Poseidon).

I know that we technically aren't allowed to leave review responses in fics, but I've decided to do the closest thing. Instead of yakking on about ideas, drafts, etc. (like that giant vermin idea for Sol Sanctum), I'll simply answer whatever's asked, saving people from boredom. However, while I'll respond as per the system, I'll answer the question for all in the next chapter via "issue response."

Kind of the same thing, but from experience, when one question is asked in a review, others rarely ask the same thing, even if it's a blatant issue/error. Kind of like instinct. Meh. That's just me.

Ok, I THINK that's all. Anyway, that's it. Don't be surprised if you don't get another update till next year. HSC sucks.