Alchemy Destinies
By: The Digital One
YAY! Isaac and Garet are going to make their debut. I was waiting for this chapter! Well, this will probably be the only Vale chapter in a long time, until Saturos and Menardi "forces" Alex to join them (which will take a long time, since I'm basing the prequel on the actual game), and then them getting past the elders… well, anyway, Kyle was inspired by Calvin's dad (from Calvin and Hobbes), just a side-note, though we won't be seeing him much.
---
Chapter Five: Mister Kraden comes
Garet's wide eyes widened even more; he was paying close attention to his grandpa.
"… and he'll be living here!" Garet's grandpa concluded.
"Whoop-dee-doo," Garet's twin sister yawned. "An old hag raving about alchemy is going to live here! I'm so excited. Now can I go?"
"What are you talking about, Jessie? He's not a hag! He's probably the most successful alchemy sage ever! Go ahead and play with your dumb paper dolls, while I will become an adept!"
"So? Paper dolls are cool!" Garet's little sister, Anna said. She crawled out of Jessie's arms and started hugging her grandpa.
"Whatever! While you girls loaf around, I will build my skills to become an adept! I will be capable of psynergy! And anyone who opposes me will get their ass whoo—"
"Garet, that's enough now," Garet's mom scolded. "We all have differences… and you should respect that."
"They should respect something cooler," Garet said.
"Why don't you play with Isaac, or something? I really get a headache when my angels complain…" Garet's dad said.
"That's a great idea! I'll tell Isaac about it, and we'll become adepts together!" Garet clapped his hands together. "In fact, maybe Jenna is cool enough for a girl to appreciate alchemy!"
"Mmm, I'll call you when dinner's ready," Garet's mom said.
"'Kay, mom, see ya!" Garet got his cloak out of the closet and hastily tied it on.
---
"Well, here goes…" Garet sighed, and walked up to Jenna's door. He knocked lightly on the door. Garet heard footsteps, and he adjusted his cloak. Jenna's brother, Felix answered.
"Oh, hi… Felix…" Garet muttered. He was blushing. "Umm, can—"
"Geez, Garet, look at your face!" Felix stared at Garet. Garet's face immediately faded into a crimson color. "Why are you wearing a cloak in the middle of summer?"
"Well, I—"
"I bet I know who you want, hold on," Felix nodded. "Jenna! Come here!"
"Felix, I'm busy! And if it involves those stupid tricks, I'm not coming!" Garet could hear Jenna yell across the house.
"Wouldn't you like to see Garet instead of… combing you hair?" Felix called.
"Garet? Ha! I'm not falling for your tricks, Felix!" Jenna yelled.
"Have it your way!" Felix said. "Well, Garet, I'm afraid Jenna's busy… come back later."
"Wait! Never mind, I believe you!" Garet heard Jenna running toward the door. She opened it, and gazed into Garet's face.
"Umm, hi, sorry about that…" Jenna put on her boots, and got her staff. Garet stared at her.
"What was that about, anyway?" Garet asked.
"Felix just found out that he was an earth adept… and he…" Jenna sighed.
"Really? Don't worry, Jenna, vengeance will be yours once I become an adept!" Garet said. They were walking side by side.
"….Umm, yea… well, what's up? Why did you call me out?" Jenna asked.
"My grandpa told me the coolest thing!" Garet smiled. "Kraden will be coming?"
"Who?"
"Kraden! The alchemy sage! He'll be living in Vale!" Garet said.
"Oh, great. Now Felix can build his powers so he can play more tricks on me!"
"Why don't you become an adept? You have the potential, heh…"
"Well, I'm sure Isaac's dad will be excited by this news… call Isaac out." They were standing in front of Isaac's house. Garet knocked on the door, much harder than he had earlier at Jenna's. No on responded.
"Hey, Isaac? Are you in there?" Garet laid his head on the door.
"Isaac normally can come outside after training with his father…" Jenna said.
"Maybe Isaac loves you, and… he's afraid that he'll blush in front of you… or…"
"Oh, please, Garet…"
Suddenly the door opened, and Garet tumbled to Isaac's mom's feet.
"Oh, it's you Garet. Heh, not a surprise, either… need help in getting up?"
"No, I'm fine… ma'am…" Garet grunted.
"You two are searching for Isaac, right? He's up in the sanctum, watching the others meditate. Go up there…"
"Thanks, ma'am," Jenna nodded and walked north toward the sanctum.
"Hehe, Isaac's not the type to meditate and become a healer…" Garet said.
"Well, everything's possible," Jenna swatted her staff at a vermin walking towards them. Suddenly, healers came bursting out of the sanctum, and Isaac was clutching his father's hand tightly, his father looking smug.
"Isaac!" Jenna yelled over all the voices. "Over here!"
Isaac looked toward Jenna, and said something to his dad. His dad nodded, and began talking to the great healer. Isaac ran toward the, panting.
"So, did you learn how to meditate, so something?" Garet asked.
Isaac frowned. "Meditate? Err…" Isaac looked away from Garet. "So, Jenna, your brother's a venus adept, huh?"
"Yea and he's abusing his powers…" Jenna said. She put her staff on her shoulders, and held on to it with both hands.
"He's using his powers to…" Isaac began, and looked around. "Hurt you?"
"No, he has plant powers. He grew giant thorns in my garden… do you know how much energy I put into that garden everyday? Now, I'll have to start all over, using my fallow garden…" Jenna's mouth quivered. "A… And he… he said that," Jenna paused, and then sighed. "Ugh…"
Garet laughed. "Haha, Jenna. God, how can that upset you? I thought he made rocks fall over you while you were sketching your landscapes near the waterfall, or something."
"Garet, shut up! What if your sister did something to the one thing you loved?" Garet immediately thought about Jenna when she said that, but he shrugged.
"My sister would never kill someone," Garet said hollowly, kicking a small pebble into the lake. Isaac smiled.
"Ah, let's no delve into this subject anymore," Isaac said, beaming. "Anyway, what's up with you guys?"
"Garet's excited about a sage moving to Vale," Jenna said as if it had no importance. The three of them sat near the lake's edge, and Jenna dipped her staff into the water playfully.
"Wow, an alchemy sage?" Isaac got up, and looked toward Jenna.
"Yea, so? What's so great about that?" Jenna stared up to Isaac's excited face.
"Wow! Then I can become an… adept! Well, of course I'll be an adept; both of my parents are adepts! Hmm, I wonder what kind of adept I'll turn out to be… my mom's a Jupiter adept, my father is a Venus adept…"
"I know I'll be a fire adept, I just know it," Garet smiled. "That would be cool!"
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Wow… very… interesting…"
"Indeed, Jenna!" Isaac said, peering into the sky. "I certainly don't want to be a Mercury adept, I mean, they barely have any powers except to heal… boring…"
"Yea, being a Jupiter adept sure has its advantages!"
"Wow, when is he coming, Jenna?"
"I dunno… ask Garet… besides, why the heck would I care?"
Isaac shrugged, and turned to where Garet was sitting. "When is he coming, Garet?"
"Dunno, grandpa said he is coming from Hesperia. That should take a long time…"
"I hope he comes soon!" Isaac said excitedly.
"Yea, me too," Jenna said dully. She grabbed her staff and walked away from them. "I'll be going," she said without a backward glance at the two boys.
"Sure, go join Jessie and Anna to play your sissy girl games! Go cut out paper dolls and pretend you're princesses!" Garet called to Jenna. Jenna felt a stabbing pain in her chest, and she glowered at Garet. The tramped up the stairway, and marched onto the bridge, looking at Mt. Aleph above. Few villagers ever went up to Mt. Aleph… was Sol Sanctum really there? Jenna smiled, sneaked up into the sanctum's cliff, and turned her head to see if anyone was watching. When a boy playing with a dog ran past the bridge, Jenna raced toward the tree and hid to make sure that no one really was watching her.
"Ha," Jenna whispered to herself. "Garet and Isaac probably don't even know what alchemy is! They probably don't know that Sol Sanctum is inside Mt. Aleph!" She sighed, ran up to the entrance, and hid behind a small boulder. Then Jenna quickly ran toward the entrance, and opened the door.
The room she entered was dark, and she heard a dripping noise. She saw an open doorway in front of her. Jenna forced a laugh, and then headed toward the door. What if this was some kind of trap? She edged near the doorway.
'Why the hell am I doing this?' Jenna thought. 'To impress Isaac and Garet, or something?' Jenna didn't answer the question, but still advanced to the next room, holding her breath. The dripping noises came nearer. In front of her was a small pond, with marble stepping stones, and three tunnels. Jenna sighed, and decided to take the middle route. While stepping on the stones, she heard a shifting noise.
"Yes… the door… the door…" Jenna heard a hoarse whisper. Jenna shuddered, and hopped quickly onto the stones. She ran through the door, and went inside a hallway.
"Honestly, these elders should make Mt. Aleph harder to get through," Jenna ran across the hallway, hearing footsteps behind her. She ran faster, and advanced to the next room. She could hear her heart pounding loudly. Since there's someone following her, she couldn't get out of the mountain.
---
"You need to get through serious training in order to start developing your powers…"
"Yea, whatever Isaac. I'm training to become a Mars Adept soon!"
"Garet, it isn't that easy…"
Say what you will, Isaac."
"… Where did Jenna go?"
"I dunno?"
"We should try finding Jenna instead of arguing…" Isaac got up, and walked up the stairs.
"No! She probably went crying to her mother, come on, please…"
Isaac paused. "You really think she's that immature, Garet?" Isaac said impatiently. He walked up the stairs, and Garet ran up to him.
"What if she… went up to Mt. Aleph, so something?" Garet said. Isaac scoffed.
"Hah! You really think Jenna's that dumb? Come on…"
---
"I am so dumb!" Jenna sighed; wishing that she never left her home, and went to talk to Garet. When the footsteps grew stronger, Jenna hid behind one of the many statues in the room. She peered behind the statue, seeing if the person was there already.
"Hey!" The squeaky voice startled Jenna. She jumped up, and kept herself from yelling. She whipped around in different directions, seeing who said it.
"Up here, girl. Did you see a… brown bug like creature?" A purple creature with a rather large head and glinting blue eyes was on the statue's head, looking down at Jenna.
"N…No…" Jenna stammered. The creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and looked around.
"What the hell?" Another voice rang. Jenna immediately knew that the man following him said that.
"Who's there?" The purple creature said cautiously. Jenna heard some giggling and grunting.
"Who are you?" The man walked around the room, turning his head in different directions. Jenna finally could see the man. He had bright blue hair tied into a ponytail, he was wearing torn up robes, had a beard, and had bright blue eyes.
"Over here!" someone else said excitedly. Jenna was starting to get crept out.
"Why are you all searching for Bane? Or are we all excited to finally have a visitor?" The purple creature said. A blue creature with spikes on its head looked up from the statue and nodded furiously.
"It's a mercury adept, Kite!" the creature said in a high voice.
Kite looked up. "Yea, but why is he here? Why is she here?" The man suddenly found the ones who were talking. The blue creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and breathed in her face.
"She's a Mars Adept, yuck…" The blue creature edged away.
"Who are you?" The man said, looking closely at Jenna.
"I am a citizen of Vale, and I have the rights to visit Mt. … Aleph … thief!" Jenna suddenly said, with immense courage.
"Oh ho, who are you to accuse me? I am…" The man suddenly stopped.
"Yer a thief!" A 'brown bug' looking creature popped out, its blue eyes filled with anger. "And she is too!"
"Flint… both of them are adepts…" The blue creature said. Flint tilted his head slightly.
"Then they want to steal the elemental stars!! We gotta fight 'em!" Flint said jumping.
"This girl is a child…" another voice popped out.
"Torch… fancy you meeting here. If anyone else comes, we probably don't have the power to keep the stars safe… especially the Mercury Star," the blue creature said.
"Aye, your brother, Fizz…" Torch began.
"Is a freakin' turncoat!" Flint piped up. "Left for no damned reason! He probably was afraid of the sanctum robbin'!"
"And what about Bane? He always runs off!" the blue creature said angrily.
"Spritz, we always catch that coward that flees from any noise," Torch said dully. Torch was taller than the rest of them, and he had a bright orange coat, and big, green eyes. "…but… your brother went out of the sanctum! If he's dead, I wouldn't give a damn…"
Torch shook his head. "We do have the help of the wise one…" No one said anything.
Jenna looked up at the man. He had no clue what they were talking about, either.
"And we need to stick together, especially when robbers are plenty now-a- days!" Flint said, jumping.
"Now, what do you want, child?" Torch said comfortingly to Jenna.
"Me?" Jenna said.
"… yea, you… why are you here?" Spritz said.
Jenna didn't know the answer, so she answered truthfully. "I dunno…"
"Liar! And what about you?" Flint said, facing the man.
"I… protect the sanctum!" The man said slowly.
"Liar!" Jenna roared. Everyone was looking at her. "You aren't even a villager in Vale!"
"And how you know that?" Another small voice piped up. Another big bug-like creature popped out, much fatter than Flint.
"Bane, you imbecile! Come back here!" Kite yelled. Bane gave a bored expression to Kite.
"Refrain from name calling, friend," Bane said coolly.
"Bane, go back to the sanctum!" Flint ordered. Bane just stood there, staring at Jenna.
"Kite?" Spritz said. Kite nodded, and walked up to the man. Kite closed its eyes, and started using…
"You guys know how to … cast psynergy?" Jenna said. Torch nodded silently, and they all looked at Kite.
"Ahhhh! What the hell are you doing?" the man yelled. Kite stopped, and jumped onto Jenna's lap.
"His name is Mitchell. He comes from northern Hesperia. He abandoned his family in search of… the elemental stars… he is a mercury adept…" Kite said.
"No need to say more," Spritz said. "Well, man, you came to the right place, but you aren't getting anything!"
"So, you came for greed, huh? Never intending to come back to your family?" Flint screwed up his face.
Mitchell showed fear in his face. "No… it's…"
"You're disgusting, even for a water seer!" Spritz said angrily. Spritz glowed into a blue power, and head butted Mitchell. "Teleport!" Mitchell glowed the same color, and disappeared. Spritz suddenly reappeared, a smile on his face.
"So, what about this girl?" Bane said. Kite closed his eyes, and faced Jenna. When he was done, Kite's eyes began to sparkle with tears.
"What?" Flint said.
"… Spritz; get her out of here… (sniff) …" Kite said.
"…why?" Spritz asked.
"We demand to know!" Torch said, kicking up his feet and standing on his tail.
"It involves her future… she better not hear it…"
"Her future? Wow, you can read thoughts from the future?" Spritz asked, interested.
"No, silly, Kite just wants to keep it to himself!" Bane said.
"Something is hidden in her brain!" Kite said. "And I won't tell her about it! Let her go! Flint?"
Flint nodded. He went up to Jenna, and put his head on Jenna's left leg.
"Retreat," Flint said. Jenna glowed into a light gold color, and went back to the start of the sanctum. Flint smiled at her.
"No one's looking, go ahead," and with that, Flint ran off into the mountain. Jenna took her word, and walked out of the sanctum, stunned.
---
"Where could she be?" Isaac said, his head stuck in a bush. "Erghh… pull me out Garet…"
Garet slowly pulled Isaac out of the bush. "Like I said an hour ago, Jenna must be home! God, Isaac, are you that worried about her?"
"I'm here," Jenna said, walking toward the boys. Garet put his hands on his hips.
"See?" Isaac smiled at Garet, and then at Jenna.
"So where were you?" Isaac asked, picking thorns out of his cloak.
"Oh, I went to get a snack," Jenna lied. "Umm, did you see a blue haired man here?"
"No, why?" Garet asked.
"No reason…" Jenna lied again. "Well, I better go home…" Jenna scurried off down to her home.
"Doesn't it seem she's hiding something from us?" Isaac asked Garet. Garet shrugged.
"Well, I guess I have to go now, see ya, Isaac..." Garet ran off to his home. Isaac sighed, and went home himself.
---
"Isaac, where were you? We were worried sick!" his father said, slicing a piece of bread from a loaf. "Mmm, Dora, this bread is fabulous…"
"I was searching for Jenna," Isaac said dully. "Pass the bread." He bit off a chunk, and passed it back to his dad.
"Why didn't you just cut the bread?" He said, looking at the piece of bread as if he found a tooth in it. "That shows poor character…"
"Yea, sorry," Isaac said. He got a piece of cheese, and put it in his wooden bowl.
"Why was Jenna hiding from you?" his mom asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"Oh, I dunno, when we found her, she left…" Isaac shrugged, and grabbed the bread. Isaac's dad got a bowl of stew, dipped his bread in it, chewing on it thoughtfully.
"Maybe she was fixing her garden?" he suggested. Isaac shook his head.
"We checked there…"
"We?"
"Oh, Garet and I…"
"Is that why you were searching for her all that time?" his mom asked.
"…"
"Mmm, I guess so…"
---
The next few days were uneventful. Jenna dared not to go near Mt. Aleph, as if rocks were falling from the mountain. So, they played tag in the plaza. Isaac instantly became bored of the game (because Garet and Jenna were much faster than him), and quit playing.
"You're a sore loser, Isaac!" Jenna said.
"You guys are much faster than me!" Isaac said, resting his head on his shoulders.
"You aren't trying hard enough… I mean, look at Garet, he's fat!" Jenna said. Garet's eyes widened, as he looked at his arms.
"That's muscle, Jenna," Garet said. He took off his cloak, and rolled up his sleeves. "See?"
"Showoff," Isaac said in a dead voice. Garet smiled.
"If Isaac isn't playing, I'm not either! Jenna's probably faster than a death rate of a vermin!" Garet said. He jumped onto the middle of the pond with the large psynergy stone, and touched it.
"I wonder when Kraden's coming," Isaac looked at his reflection in the mulberry colored stone.
"Yea… I bet he knows a lot of things we would never know in a lifetime…" Jenna remembered seeing Spritz, Torch, and the other creatures she saw in the sanctum, that guarded the stones with the help of the Wise One.
"Since when did you get interested in this subject, huh?" Garet leaned on the stone, looking at her.
"Well…" Jenna couldn't find a way to explain it. She looked into the handsome stone, the sunlight glinting off of the rock. The color reminded her of Kite...
"Kids, please don't stay there!" the woman that worked in the herb shop poked her head out of the window. All three of them jumped off the stone at once.
"Thank you…"
"Umm, guys, do you know anything about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked after a long moment of silence. She retrieved her silver staff, and stuck it on the ground.
"Only the fact that it was built in the honor of the sun," Garet said. "Hey, Isaac, have any money? We can buy something to eat."
"What about the Wise One?" Jenna asked as Isaac got some coins out of her pocket, counting them, while Garet was watching him count the coins. Jenna realized they weren't listening to her.
"Hold on, Jenna…" Garet grabbed the money from Isaac's hand, and walked up to the bakery.
"Isaac, what has your dad taught you about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked Isaac. Garet returned, holding three buns. He handed one to both Isaac and Jenna, saving the biggest one for himself. Jenna noticed she got the littlest piece.
Isaac chewed on the bun before answering. "Well, they house the four elements…"
"Yea… and?"
"Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind…"
"Uh huh…?"
"Then elemental djinn protect them!"
"The djinn?"
"Yea, Muslim legends. They grant wishes, and have elemental powers," Isaac finished his bun quickly. Jenna still didn't try her bun.
"Jenna, do you want your bun?" Garet asked. Jenna handed him her bun.
"Here you go, pig," Jenna said. "So, what do djinn look like?"
Isaac shrugged. "The elemental stars could be a legend,"
"No, it isn't," Jenna suddenly said. Isaac nodded.
"Well, what do guys wanna do?" Isaac said. He tossed his napkin inside the psynergy pond.
"Isaac! You know better than that! No littering!" The woman said. Isaac sighed, and got the wet napkin out of the pond.
"Garet, can you throw this away?" Garet edged away from the napkin.
"I… I'm allergic to water…" Garet said. Jenna chuckled as Isaac threw the napkin at Garet. Garet screamed when the napkin stuck onto him.
"Haha, I bet that's why Garet smells so bad!" Jenna joked.
"Isaac! Do you want me to tell your father?"
"Sorry ma'am…"
---
The next day Jenna suggested playing hide-and-seek. Isaac scoffed at the idea, and sat out. He did, however, had fun watching Garet try to find Jenna, when she was hiding behind logs near the inn. Suddenly, an old man wearing a light cloak walked up to Isaac.
"Where… am… I?" He breathed.
"Welcome to the village of Vale!" Isaac put his arms out. The old man, whom was sweating, smiled.
"Yes! I'm here… finally…" Isaac looked up at the man.
"Kraden!" Isaac yelled, which attracted everyone in the plaza. After people realized why Isaac yelled, they started crowding around him, asking him questions. Isaac backed away from the shoving people, and looked at Jenna.
"Want to…" Isaac looked at Kraden. He had a goatee, and glasses that magnified his small beady eyes. Garet went up to him immediately. Jenna smiled, and nodded.
"If it involves training, I'm with you, Isaac!" Jenna said, got up, and reached for her staff. Kraden seemed to like the fame of the villagers crowding around him. Isaac shrugged, and waited for the villagers to go on with their daily routines.
---
I sped up on the ending for this. The only reason I made Jenna meet the djinn is because, yes, I'll be following Saturos and Menardi's quest while Isaac and the others go around their journey, and the djinn play an important role. Well, I didn't like this chapter that much… but it was pretty long, heh ^^
By: The Digital One
YAY! Isaac and Garet are going to make their debut. I was waiting for this chapter! Well, this will probably be the only Vale chapter in a long time, until Saturos and Menardi "forces" Alex to join them (which will take a long time, since I'm basing the prequel on the actual game), and then them getting past the elders… well, anyway, Kyle was inspired by Calvin's dad (from Calvin and Hobbes), just a side-note, though we won't be seeing him much.
---
Chapter Five: Mister Kraden comes
Garet's wide eyes widened even more; he was paying close attention to his grandpa.
"… and he'll be living here!" Garet's grandpa concluded.
"Whoop-dee-doo," Garet's twin sister yawned. "An old hag raving about alchemy is going to live here! I'm so excited. Now can I go?"
"What are you talking about, Jessie? He's not a hag! He's probably the most successful alchemy sage ever! Go ahead and play with your dumb paper dolls, while I will become an adept!"
"So? Paper dolls are cool!" Garet's little sister, Anna said. She crawled out of Jessie's arms and started hugging her grandpa.
"Whatever! While you girls loaf around, I will build my skills to become an adept! I will be capable of psynergy! And anyone who opposes me will get their ass whoo—"
"Garet, that's enough now," Garet's mom scolded. "We all have differences… and you should respect that."
"They should respect something cooler," Garet said.
"Why don't you play with Isaac, or something? I really get a headache when my angels complain…" Garet's dad said.
"That's a great idea! I'll tell Isaac about it, and we'll become adepts together!" Garet clapped his hands together. "In fact, maybe Jenna is cool enough for a girl to appreciate alchemy!"
"Mmm, I'll call you when dinner's ready," Garet's mom said.
"'Kay, mom, see ya!" Garet got his cloak out of the closet and hastily tied it on.
---
"Well, here goes…" Garet sighed, and walked up to Jenna's door. He knocked lightly on the door. Garet heard footsteps, and he adjusted his cloak. Jenna's brother, Felix answered.
"Oh, hi… Felix…" Garet muttered. He was blushing. "Umm, can—"
"Geez, Garet, look at your face!" Felix stared at Garet. Garet's face immediately faded into a crimson color. "Why are you wearing a cloak in the middle of summer?"
"Well, I—"
"I bet I know who you want, hold on," Felix nodded. "Jenna! Come here!"
"Felix, I'm busy! And if it involves those stupid tricks, I'm not coming!" Garet could hear Jenna yell across the house.
"Wouldn't you like to see Garet instead of… combing you hair?" Felix called.
"Garet? Ha! I'm not falling for your tricks, Felix!" Jenna yelled.
"Have it your way!" Felix said. "Well, Garet, I'm afraid Jenna's busy… come back later."
"Wait! Never mind, I believe you!" Garet heard Jenna running toward the door. She opened it, and gazed into Garet's face.
"Umm, hi, sorry about that…" Jenna put on her boots, and got her staff. Garet stared at her.
"What was that about, anyway?" Garet asked.
"Felix just found out that he was an earth adept… and he…" Jenna sighed.
"Really? Don't worry, Jenna, vengeance will be yours once I become an adept!" Garet said. They were walking side by side.
"….Umm, yea… well, what's up? Why did you call me out?" Jenna asked.
"My grandpa told me the coolest thing!" Garet smiled. "Kraden will be coming?"
"Who?"
"Kraden! The alchemy sage! He'll be living in Vale!" Garet said.
"Oh, great. Now Felix can build his powers so he can play more tricks on me!"
"Why don't you become an adept? You have the potential, heh…"
"Well, I'm sure Isaac's dad will be excited by this news… call Isaac out." They were standing in front of Isaac's house. Garet knocked on the door, much harder than he had earlier at Jenna's. No on responded.
"Hey, Isaac? Are you in there?" Garet laid his head on the door.
"Isaac normally can come outside after training with his father…" Jenna said.
"Maybe Isaac loves you, and… he's afraid that he'll blush in front of you… or…"
"Oh, please, Garet…"
Suddenly the door opened, and Garet tumbled to Isaac's mom's feet.
"Oh, it's you Garet. Heh, not a surprise, either… need help in getting up?"
"No, I'm fine… ma'am…" Garet grunted.
"You two are searching for Isaac, right? He's up in the sanctum, watching the others meditate. Go up there…"
"Thanks, ma'am," Jenna nodded and walked north toward the sanctum.
"Hehe, Isaac's not the type to meditate and become a healer…" Garet said.
"Well, everything's possible," Jenna swatted her staff at a vermin walking towards them. Suddenly, healers came bursting out of the sanctum, and Isaac was clutching his father's hand tightly, his father looking smug.
"Isaac!" Jenna yelled over all the voices. "Over here!"
Isaac looked toward Jenna, and said something to his dad. His dad nodded, and began talking to the great healer. Isaac ran toward the, panting.
"So, did you learn how to meditate, so something?" Garet asked.
Isaac frowned. "Meditate? Err…" Isaac looked away from Garet. "So, Jenna, your brother's a venus adept, huh?"
"Yea and he's abusing his powers…" Jenna said. She put her staff on her shoulders, and held on to it with both hands.
"He's using his powers to…" Isaac began, and looked around. "Hurt you?"
"No, he has plant powers. He grew giant thorns in my garden… do you know how much energy I put into that garden everyday? Now, I'll have to start all over, using my fallow garden…" Jenna's mouth quivered. "A… And he… he said that," Jenna paused, and then sighed. "Ugh…"
Garet laughed. "Haha, Jenna. God, how can that upset you? I thought he made rocks fall over you while you were sketching your landscapes near the waterfall, or something."
"Garet, shut up! What if your sister did something to the one thing you loved?" Garet immediately thought about Jenna when she said that, but he shrugged.
"My sister would never kill someone," Garet said hollowly, kicking a small pebble into the lake. Isaac smiled.
"Ah, let's no delve into this subject anymore," Isaac said, beaming. "Anyway, what's up with you guys?"
"Garet's excited about a sage moving to Vale," Jenna said as if it had no importance. The three of them sat near the lake's edge, and Jenna dipped her staff into the water playfully.
"Wow, an alchemy sage?" Isaac got up, and looked toward Jenna.
"Yea, so? What's so great about that?" Jenna stared up to Isaac's excited face.
"Wow! Then I can become an… adept! Well, of course I'll be an adept; both of my parents are adepts! Hmm, I wonder what kind of adept I'll turn out to be… my mom's a Jupiter adept, my father is a Venus adept…"
"I know I'll be a fire adept, I just know it," Garet smiled. "That would be cool!"
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Wow… very… interesting…"
"Indeed, Jenna!" Isaac said, peering into the sky. "I certainly don't want to be a Mercury adept, I mean, they barely have any powers except to heal… boring…"
"Yea, being a Jupiter adept sure has its advantages!"
"Wow, when is he coming, Jenna?"
"I dunno… ask Garet… besides, why the heck would I care?"
Isaac shrugged, and turned to where Garet was sitting. "When is he coming, Garet?"
"Dunno, grandpa said he is coming from Hesperia. That should take a long time…"
"I hope he comes soon!" Isaac said excitedly.
"Yea, me too," Jenna said dully. She grabbed her staff and walked away from them. "I'll be going," she said without a backward glance at the two boys.
"Sure, go join Jessie and Anna to play your sissy girl games! Go cut out paper dolls and pretend you're princesses!" Garet called to Jenna. Jenna felt a stabbing pain in her chest, and she glowered at Garet. The tramped up the stairway, and marched onto the bridge, looking at Mt. Aleph above. Few villagers ever went up to Mt. Aleph… was Sol Sanctum really there? Jenna smiled, sneaked up into the sanctum's cliff, and turned her head to see if anyone was watching. When a boy playing with a dog ran past the bridge, Jenna raced toward the tree and hid to make sure that no one really was watching her.
"Ha," Jenna whispered to herself. "Garet and Isaac probably don't even know what alchemy is! They probably don't know that Sol Sanctum is inside Mt. Aleph!" She sighed, ran up to the entrance, and hid behind a small boulder. Then Jenna quickly ran toward the entrance, and opened the door.
The room she entered was dark, and she heard a dripping noise. She saw an open doorway in front of her. Jenna forced a laugh, and then headed toward the door. What if this was some kind of trap? She edged near the doorway.
'Why the hell am I doing this?' Jenna thought. 'To impress Isaac and Garet, or something?' Jenna didn't answer the question, but still advanced to the next room, holding her breath. The dripping noises came nearer. In front of her was a small pond, with marble stepping stones, and three tunnels. Jenna sighed, and decided to take the middle route. While stepping on the stones, she heard a shifting noise.
"Yes… the door… the door…" Jenna heard a hoarse whisper. Jenna shuddered, and hopped quickly onto the stones. She ran through the door, and went inside a hallway.
"Honestly, these elders should make Mt. Aleph harder to get through," Jenna ran across the hallway, hearing footsteps behind her. She ran faster, and advanced to the next room. She could hear her heart pounding loudly. Since there's someone following her, she couldn't get out of the mountain.
---
"You need to get through serious training in order to start developing your powers…"
"Yea, whatever Isaac. I'm training to become a Mars Adept soon!"
"Garet, it isn't that easy…"
Say what you will, Isaac."
"… Where did Jenna go?"
"I dunno?"
"We should try finding Jenna instead of arguing…" Isaac got up, and walked up the stairs.
"No! She probably went crying to her mother, come on, please…"
Isaac paused. "You really think she's that immature, Garet?" Isaac said impatiently. He walked up the stairs, and Garet ran up to him.
"What if she… went up to Mt. Aleph, so something?" Garet said. Isaac scoffed.
"Hah! You really think Jenna's that dumb? Come on…"
---
"I am so dumb!" Jenna sighed; wishing that she never left her home, and went to talk to Garet. When the footsteps grew stronger, Jenna hid behind one of the many statues in the room. She peered behind the statue, seeing if the person was there already.
"Hey!" The squeaky voice startled Jenna. She jumped up, and kept herself from yelling. She whipped around in different directions, seeing who said it.
"Up here, girl. Did you see a… brown bug like creature?" A purple creature with a rather large head and glinting blue eyes was on the statue's head, looking down at Jenna.
"N…No…" Jenna stammered. The creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and looked around.
"What the hell?" Another voice rang. Jenna immediately knew that the man following him said that.
"Who's there?" The purple creature said cautiously. Jenna heard some giggling and grunting.
"Who are you?" The man walked around the room, turning his head in different directions. Jenna finally could see the man. He had bright blue hair tied into a ponytail, he was wearing torn up robes, had a beard, and had bright blue eyes.
"Over here!" someone else said excitedly. Jenna was starting to get crept out.
"Why are you all searching for Bane? Or are we all excited to finally have a visitor?" The purple creature said. A blue creature with spikes on its head looked up from the statue and nodded furiously.
"It's a mercury adept, Kite!" the creature said in a high voice.
Kite looked up. "Yea, but why is he here? Why is she here?" The man suddenly found the ones who were talking. The blue creature jumped onto Jenna's lap, and breathed in her face.
"She's a Mars Adept, yuck…" The blue creature edged away.
"Who are you?" The man said, looking closely at Jenna.
"I am a citizen of Vale, and I have the rights to visit Mt. … Aleph … thief!" Jenna suddenly said, with immense courage.
"Oh ho, who are you to accuse me? I am…" The man suddenly stopped.
"Yer a thief!" A 'brown bug' looking creature popped out, its blue eyes filled with anger. "And she is too!"
"Flint… both of them are adepts…" The blue creature said. Flint tilted his head slightly.
"Then they want to steal the elemental stars!! We gotta fight 'em!" Flint said jumping.
"This girl is a child…" another voice popped out.
"Torch… fancy you meeting here. If anyone else comes, we probably don't have the power to keep the stars safe… especially the Mercury Star," the blue creature said.
"Aye, your brother, Fizz…" Torch began.
"Is a freakin' turncoat!" Flint piped up. "Left for no damned reason! He probably was afraid of the sanctum robbin'!"
"And what about Bane? He always runs off!" the blue creature said angrily.
"Spritz, we always catch that coward that flees from any noise," Torch said dully. Torch was taller than the rest of them, and he had a bright orange coat, and big, green eyes. "…but… your brother went out of the sanctum! If he's dead, I wouldn't give a damn…"
Torch shook his head. "We do have the help of the wise one…" No one said anything.
Jenna looked up at the man. He had no clue what they were talking about, either.
"And we need to stick together, especially when robbers are plenty now-a- days!" Flint said, jumping.
"Now, what do you want, child?" Torch said comfortingly to Jenna.
"Me?" Jenna said.
"… yea, you… why are you here?" Spritz said.
Jenna didn't know the answer, so she answered truthfully. "I dunno…"
"Liar! And what about you?" Flint said, facing the man.
"I… protect the sanctum!" The man said slowly.
"Liar!" Jenna roared. Everyone was looking at her. "You aren't even a villager in Vale!"
"And how you know that?" Another small voice piped up. Another big bug-like creature popped out, much fatter than Flint.
"Bane, you imbecile! Come back here!" Kite yelled. Bane gave a bored expression to Kite.
"Refrain from name calling, friend," Bane said coolly.
"Bane, go back to the sanctum!" Flint ordered. Bane just stood there, staring at Jenna.
"Kite?" Spritz said. Kite nodded, and walked up to the man. Kite closed its eyes, and started using…
"You guys know how to … cast psynergy?" Jenna said. Torch nodded silently, and they all looked at Kite.
"Ahhhh! What the hell are you doing?" the man yelled. Kite stopped, and jumped onto Jenna's lap.
"His name is Mitchell. He comes from northern Hesperia. He abandoned his family in search of… the elemental stars… he is a mercury adept…" Kite said.
"No need to say more," Spritz said. "Well, man, you came to the right place, but you aren't getting anything!"
"So, you came for greed, huh? Never intending to come back to your family?" Flint screwed up his face.
Mitchell showed fear in his face. "No… it's…"
"You're disgusting, even for a water seer!" Spritz said angrily. Spritz glowed into a blue power, and head butted Mitchell. "Teleport!" Mitchell glowed the same color, and disappeared. Spritz suddenly reappeared, a smile on his face.
"So, what about this girl?" Bane said. Kite closed his eyes, and faced Jenna. When he was done, Kite's eyes began to sparkle with tears.
"What?" Flint said.
"… Spritz; get her out of here… (sniff) …" Kite said.
"…why?" Spritz asked.
"We demand to know!" Torch said, kicking up his feet and standing on his tail.
"It involves her future… she better not hear it…"
"Her future? Wow, you can read thoughts from the future?" Spritz asked, interested.
"No, silly, Kite just wants to keep it to himself!" Bane said.
"Something is hidden in her brain!" Kite said. "And I won't tell her about it! Let her go! Flint?"
Flint nodded. He went up to Jenna, and put his head on Jenna's left leg.
"Retreat," Flint said. Jenna glowed into a light gold color, and went back to the start of the sanctum. Flint smiled at her.
"No one's looking, go ahead," and with that, Flint ran off into the mountain. Jenna took her word, and walked out of the sanctum, stunned.
---
"Where could she be?" Isaac said, his head stuck in a bush. "Erghh… pull me out Garet…"
Garet slowly pulled Isaac out of the bush. "Like I said an hour ago, Jenna must be home! God, Isaac, are you that worried about her?"
"I'm here," Jenna said, walking toward the boys. Garet put his hands on his hips.
"See?" Isaac smiled at Garet, and then at Jenna.
"So where were you?" Isaac asked, picking thorns out of his cloak.
"Oh, I went to get a snack," Jenna lied. "Umm, did you see a blue haired man here?"
"No, why?" Garet asked.
"No reason…" Jenna lied again. "Well, I better go home…" Jenna scurried off down to her home.
"Doesn't it seem she's hiding something from us?" Isaac asked Garet. Garet shrugged.
"Well, I guess I have to go now, see ya, Isaac..." Garet ran off to his home. Isaac sighed, and went home himself.
---
"Isaac, where were you? We were worried sick!" his father said, slicing a piece of bread from a loaf. "Mmm, Dora, this bread is fabulous…"
"I was searching for Jenna," Isaac said dully. "Pass the bread." He bit off a chunk, and passed it back to his dad.
"Why didn't you just cut the bread?" He said, looking at the piece of bread as if he found a tooth in it. "That shows poor character…"
"Yea, sorry," Isaac said. He got a piece of cheese, and put it in his wooden bowl.
"Why was Jenna hiding from you?" his mom asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"Oh, I dunno, when we found her, she left…" Isaac shrugged, and grabbed the bread. Isaac's dad got a bowl of stew, dipped his bread in it, chewing on it thoughtfully.
"Maybe she was fixing her garden?" he suggested. Isaac shook his head.
"We checked there…"
"We?"
"Oh, Garet and I…"
"Is that why you were searching for her all that time?" his mom asked.
"…"
"Mmm, I guess so…"
---
The next few days were uneventful. Jenna dared not to go near Mt. Aleph, as if rocks were falling from the mountain. So, they played tag in the plaza. Isaac instantly became bored of the game (because Garet and Jenna were much faster than him), and quit playing.
"You're a sore loser, Isaac!" Jenna said.
"You guys are much faster than me!" Isaac said, resting his head on his shoulders.
"You aren't trying hard enough… I mean, look at Garet, he's fat!" Jenna said. Garet's eyes widened, as he looked at his arms.
"That's muscle, Jenna," Garet said. He took off his cloak, and rolled up his sleeves. "See?"
"Showoff," Isaac said in a dead voice. Garet smiled.
"If Isaac isn't playing, I'm not either! Jenna's probably faster than a death rate of a vermin!" Garet said. He jumped onto the middle of the pond with the large psynergy stone, and touched it.
"I wonder when Kraden's coming," Isaac looked at his reflection in the mulberry colored stone.
"Yea… I bet he knows a lot of things we would never know in a lifetime…" Jenna remembered seeing Spritz, Torch, and the other creatures she saw in the sanctum, that guarded the stones with the help of the Wise One.
"Since when did you get interested in this subject, huh?" Garet leaned on the stone, looking at her.
"Well…" Jenna couldn't find a way to explain it. She looked into the handsome stone, the sunlight glinting off of the rock. The color reminded her of Kite...
"Kids, please don't stay there!" the woman that worked in the herb shop poked her head out of the window. All three of them jumped off the stone at once.
"Thank you…"
"Umm, guys, do you know anything about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked after a long moment of silence. She retrieved her silver staff, and stuck it on the ground.
"Only the fact that it was built in the honor of the sun," Garet said. "Hey, Isaac, have any money? We can buy something to eat."
"What about the Wise One?" Jenna asked as Isaac got some coins out of her pocket, counting them, while Garet was watching him count the coins. Jenna realized they weren't listening to her.
"Hold on, Jenna…" Garet grabbed the money from Isaac's hand, and walked up to the bakery.
"Isaac, what has your dad taught you about Sol Sanctum?" Jenna asked Isaac. Garet returned, holding three buns. He handed one to both Isaac and Jenna, saving the biggest one for himself. Jenna noticed she got the littlest piece.
Isaac chewed on the bun before answering. "Well, they house the four elements…"
"Yea… and?"
"Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind…"
"Uh huh…?"
"Then elemental djinn protect them!"
"The djinn?"
"Yea, Muslim legends. They grant wishes, and have elemental powers," Isaac finished his bun quickly. Jenna still didn't try her bun.
"Jenna, do you want your bun?" Garet asked. Jenna handed him her bun.
"Here you go, pig," Jenna said. "So, what do djinn look like?"
Isaac shrugged. "The elemental stars could be a legend,"
"No, it isn't," Jenna suddenly said. Isaac nodded.
"Well, what do guys wanna do?" Isaac said. He tossed his napkin inside the psynergy pond.
"Isaac! You know better than that! No littering!" The woman said. Isaac sighed, and got the wet napkin out of the pond.
"Garet, can you throw this away?" Garet edged away from the napkin.
"I… I'm allergic to water…" Garet said. Jenna chuckled as Isaac threw the napkin at Garet. Garet screamed when the napkin stuck onto him.
"Haha, I bet that's why Garet smells so bad!" Jenna joked.
"Isaac! Do you want me to tell your father?"
"Sorry ma'am…"
---
The next day Jenna suggested playing hide-and-seek. Isaac scoffed at the idea, and sat out. He did, however, had fun watching Garet try to find Jenna, when she was hiding behind logs near the inn. Suddenly, an old man wearing a light cloak walked up to Isaac.
"Where… am… I?" He breathed.
"Welcome to the village of Vale!" Isaac put his arms out. The old man, whom was sweating, smiled.
"Yes! I'm here… finally…" Isaac looked up at the man.
"Kraden!" Isaac yelled, which attracted everyone in the plaza. After people realized why Isaac yelled, they started crowding around him, asking him questions. Isaac backed away from the shoving people, and looked at Jenna.
"Want to…" Isaac looked at Kraden. He had a goatee, and glasses that magnified his small beady eyes. Garet went up to him immediately. Jenna smiled, and nodded.
"If it involves training, I'm with you, Isaac!" Jenna said, got up, and reached for her staff. Kraden seemed to like the fame of the villagers crowding around him. Isaac shrugged, and waited for the villagers to go on with their daily routines.
---
I sped up on the ending for this. The only reason I made Jenna meet the djinn is because, yes, I'll be following Saturos and Menardi's quest while Isaac and the others go around their journey, and the djinn play an important role. Well, I didn't like this chapter that much… but it was pretty long, heh ^^