Disclaimer: (sigh) I do not own Golden Sun or any of its characters,
places, ideas, or anything else there might be in it.
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The seasons slowly turned, the same as they always had down the years, and the close-knit group tried to recover from the loss of their leader. They all stayed in Vale except Mia, drawing even closer in the gap left by Isaac's leaving. Mia spent the summer in Imil in the north then came south with the birds in winter and stayed in Vale.
At first they were all looking over their shoulders all the time for Isaac's reappearance, but as the weeks turned into months they slowly realised that he was not going to get over his parents' deaths and come back. He did come back to his hometown once in a while, as he had promised he would, but never stayed more than a couple of days.
He chatted with his friends about old times, but never really said much about what he had been up to more recently apart from the odd bit of news from places all around the world. It was almost as if he let the old Isaac come out for them - but they could all see that he was in many ways a different person now. All questions about his current activities met evasions or very vague answers.
Another thing they noticed was that he looked ever more worn every time they saw him. He was lean to the point of anorexic and it was obvious that he did not get enough rest - but he wasn't around long enough for them to try to help.
Jenna married Garet a couple of years after the return to Vale, Isaac missing the occasion by only a couple of days. He claimed to have known when it was on but the ship he was on had been delayed by bad weather, which was why he was late. They all wanted to know how he could have known, since there had been no fixed date by the last time he had visited - he claimed that a Jupiter adept they did not know told him, but refused point- blank to say more on the subject.
On a visit when Isaac was 21, Mia noticed something that shocked them all deeply. He looked continually exhausted to the point of collapse, even more so than usual, and was very preoccupied all the time, but then she noticed the tiniest streaks of grey here and there in his hair. They were all a bit stunned by this, except Isaac who said that although he had not known it did not surprise him, and pleaded with him to stay and rest at least for a little while. He refused, though, saying the same as he had on the day he left: that he simply could not handle being in one place for long, and that there was nowhere he could feel at peace.
After he was 22 he did not visit for a long while and they began to fret more and more. No-one saw him for five long years and it was finally decided that he must have died (though all secretly held onto hopes of his survival) as travelling alone through the wilderness was not the safest of occupations. There were less monsters around now than there had been in the time of the quest for the lighthouses, but there were still plenty and there were always a few brigands and bandits lurking in the bushes. Isaac was a colossally powerful wielder of psyenergy and one of the most skilled people with weapons on the whole planet, but if some archer got lucky and caught him in the heart or throat he would be as dead as any other man.
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That chapter was a bit crappy, but it's hard because it's not what is happening at any one time. A massive thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really helps.
*********************************************************************
The seasons slowly turned, the same as they always had down the years, and the close-knit group tried to recover from the loss of their leader. They all stayed in Vale except Mia, drawing even closer in the gap left by Isaac's leaving. Mia spent the summer in Imil in the north then came south with the birds in winter and stayed in Vale.
At first they were all looking over their shoulders all the time for Isaac's reappearance, but as the weeks turned into months they slowly realised that he was not going to get over his parents' deaths and come back. He did come back to his hometown once in a while, as he had promised he would, but never stayed more than a couple of days.
He chatted with his friends about old times, but never really said much about what he had been up to more recently apart from the odd bit of news from places all around the world. It was almost as if he let the old Isaac come out for them - but they could all see that he was in many ways a different person now. All questions about his current activities met evasions or very vague answers.
Another thing they noticed was that he looked ever more worn every time they saw him. He was lean to the point of anorexic and it was obvious that he did not get enough rest - but he wasn't around long enough for them to try to help.
Jenna married Garet a couple of years after the return to Vale, Isaac missing the occasion by only a couple of days. He claimed to have known when it was on but the ship he was on had been delayed by bad weather, which was why he was late. They all wanted to know how he could have known, since there had been no fixed date by the last time he had visited - he claimed that a Jupiter adept they did not know told him, but refused point- blank to say more on the subject.
On a visit when Isaac was 21, Mia noticed something that shocked them all deeply. He looked continually exhausted to the point of collapse, even more so than usual, and was very preoccupied all the time, but then she noticed the tiniest streaks of grey here and there in his hair. They were all a bit stunned by this, except Isaac who said that although he had not known it did not surprise him, and pleaded with him to stay and rest at least for a little while. He refused, though, saying the same as he had on the day he left: that he simply could not handle being in one place for long, and that there was nowhere he could feel at peace.
After he was 22 he did not visit for a long while and they began to fret more and more. No-one saw him for five long years and it was finally decided that he must have died (though all secretly held onto hopes of his survival) as travelling alone through the wilderness was not the safest of occupations. There were less monsters around now than there had been in the time of the quest for the lighthouses, but there were still plenty and there were always a few brigands and bandits lurking in the bushes. Isaac was a colossally powerful wielder of psyenergy and one of the most skilled people with weapons on the whole planet, but if some archer got lucky and caught him in the heart or throat he would be as dead as any other man.
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That chapter was a bit crappy, but it's hard because it's not what is happening at any one time. A massive thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really helps.
