The Legend of Valmyle Story by Isaakian Adept

CHAPTER II: Isaac and the others rushed over to where Medius was standing, staring with awe. The caves walls were littered with purple gems. Ivan recognized them immediately.

"Psynergy Stones! They're everywhere!" Alice nodded and closed her gaping mouth. She then snapped her fingers, and instantly created a small flame in her hand. She picked up a stick and lit it on fire.

"Here Isaac, take this torch. We need to get going and find the prisoners." Garet snickered at her nervous attitude.

"No! I am not going back! I will never return to that horrid place. Never in a thousand years. If you wish to save your friends, I'm sorry, but, you'll have to continue without me." Aaron looked terrified of the cave. He spoke quickly, as if they were coming after him.

"But Aaron, we cant just leave you here!" Alice looked even more worried.

"What's the matter Alice, scared to have one less man to protect you?" Mia frowned and shook her head.

"Garet, how can you complain about our teasing when you poke fun at so many people?" Mia stopped walking and waited for an answer. "Well?" Garet exaggerated a frown and hung his head as he slowly stepped towards Mia. Suddenly, as he neared her, he pulled his head up, an evil smile on his face, and started charging at her. Mia squealed and took off down the tunnel. Within a few minutes, they were both out of sight.

"Well, anyways. Aaron, if you really feel that way, you can wait for us here. I'm sure that we'll be out soon." The four remaining said their goodbyes to the boy, as he walked over to a pile of snow and began digging a cave.

"Come on guys, we'd better go af..." Isaac was cut off by a long scream as he stepped into the cavern. This time, not one of delight. "Mia!" He started running, with Ivan, Alice, and Medius close behind.

When they arrived to where Mia and Garet were, they halted instantly. Mia was held in the fist of a giant rock monster with Garet lying at its feet, surrounded by blood and dirt.

"Oh my God, Mia!" As soon as Isaac realized that Mia was on the way to her death, he jumped into action. He shouted to the others to care for Garet, while he took care of the boulder-like beast. He slashed his Gaia blade at its head, but the sword didn't even scratch it. "Mia, hold on." He continued trying various attacks, all in vain.

Meanwhile, the others had awakened a badly injured Garet. He could barely sit up. Ivan instantly began inquiring the injured boy.

"Garet, what is that thing?" Ivan and the others had never encountered such a beast in any of their travels. He feared the beast to be a demon.

"Ohhh!" Garet was having trouble talking. " Uh, well, we saw this big guy dash into the, ohhh, shadows. Then he, ahhh, shouted something back at us and that, that thing appeared." Garet went limp in Medius' arms, but still breathed heavy breaths. Isaac looked more worried than ever.

"We have to get Mia so she can heal him! We'll have to use Djinn." Isaac pulled out seven small brown creatures from his pockets and turned to see the confused look of Medius' face.

"What are Djinn?" Isaac chuckled at his ignorance.

"Sorry, I must explain. on our travels, we met several dozen little creatures called Djinn. They had been scattered around Angara after the eruption. They agreed to help us fight if we took them with us. Now, we each have seven. Here, I'll use Flint, Quartz, Bane, and Ground to demonstrate." Isaac sorted out the four and returned the other three to his pockets. He held the little creatures in his cupped hands and began to chant. Suddenly, a huge force shot through the land, but it only affected the monster of rocks. It turned to look at Isaac, then exploded into a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the four standing saw a badly injured figure attempting to cast some spell over Garet.

"Mia! Let me help you!" Isaac rushed over to the girl. As soon as Garet was healed, she collapsed into Isaacs readied arms. "Everything is alright now, Mia." He kissed her on her forehead and layed her out on the ground. Medius crawled over and used Cure. Mia still slept, but her pulse had lowered and she was breathing more steadily. They would have to camp out in the cave until Mia awoke, and Garet fully recovered.

"Why can't we leave now? I don't want to even think about any more of those things.!" Ivan shared the groups worry, but he, being the youngest, was worried most. He knew that they wouldn't be able to handle a tougher beast, let alone another one of similar difficulty.

"Sorry buddy, we've gotta stay here until Mia and Garet are better. You'll be fine as long as we're here." Medius tried to be kind to the boy, but he only succeeded in worsening Ivan's attitude.

"Excuse me! I'm fifteen, not five. I want to be treated as an equal, someone your age. Not a child. I may be smaller, but mentally, I'm as mature as you, maybe more!" Medius frowned. He had never been known for his sensitivity. Isaac saw immediately where this was going, so he attempted to lift the spirits.

"Hey Medius, have you ever been to Valmyle?" Medius ignored the boy's inquiry and continued to glare at Ivan. In the dark, Isaac couldn't see what was happening, and thought that the man was simply ignoring him. "Medius, just because you're a Foriendor, it doesn't mean you can just ignore me." Medius turned to look at the boy, now angered by two individuals.

"How dare you! Why I should...I should...oh forget it. I'm too tired to think. I can barely keep my eyes open." Isaac yawned and tried to say something in agreement, but all that came out was another yawn. Medius heard it, and knew that Isaac was as tired as he. "How about you Ivan?" THe two waited for his reply, but were only answered by a long snore. They chuckled and lied down.

As the six Adepts slept, a large man crept out of the shadows, and set something on Alice's chest, then rushed back into the darkness.

***

"Aaaaaiiiiieeeee!" A piercing scream awoke everyone with a start.

"What was that?" Isaac looked around, counting heads. "Five, there's only five of us." The others gasped and frantically started looking around.

"ALice! Where's Alice?" Garet seemed unusually worried about her.

"I'm right here!" Everyone turned to see Alice . She had on nothing but a skirt, nothing on her chest. She stood with her mouth gaping, staring at something on her abdomen. Ivan and Medius turned beet red, but Garet, Isaac, and Mia were too worried about what was on her chest to care.

"What's the matter Ali..." Garet saw the problem before he finished. On her chest skin was a black spider with a red "skull" on it's back. They could all tell it was a deadly Arganon Spider from the "skull," but it was three times its usual size. It showed it bloody pincers to the group, then crawled into the cave.

"Oh Mercury!" Mia shrieked as Alice went limp. Medius rushed over to the girl and took her pulse. He looked up at the rest, and shook his head sadly. No item or Psynergy could help her now, she was gone.

"Noooooooooo!" Garet rushed over to the body and held it close as tears streamed down his face. He turned to look at the puzzled faces of his comrades. "I loved her. I really did. I loved this girl, and..." He couldn't continue. The tears kept coming, and he gasped for breath in between sobs. "Who did this!" He shouted. They all knew that Arganons only lived in the hottest parts of Angara, and they never came out in the daytime. "Show yourself, you coward!" Garet continued shouting as he clutched the body of the girl.

As they all stared at Garet, none of them noticed the bright light coming from the deeper area of the cave.

"Is someone there?" A soft female voice brought everyone back to reality. The five turned to face a young woman with beautiful brown hair, tied back into a ponytail. She was wearing a ragged brown dress, covered with patches and dirt. "Oh, hello." She seemed extremely surprised to see anyone in the cave.

"Are you from Valmyle?" Medius didn't waste any time introducing himself. He needed to know immediately.

"How do you know of Valmyle?" Her kind smile disappeared with the mention of the lost kingdom.

"No time to explain, we need to get there immediately." Isaac said with a rushed tone. He looked up at her with pleading eyes. The woman scanned them over, and stopped when she saw Alice's body.

"What happened to...oh my! Those bite marks, they are of a...oh, follow me, quickly!" She rushed back the way she came, the five Adepts, Garet still holding Alice, closely following her. The woman stopped in front of a big boulder, the only part of the cave, not covered with Psynergy stones. The woman began chanting something about Venus and earth, and the huge stone disappeared. "Welcome to Valmyle!" The five Adepts stared in shock.

The streets appeared to be made of pure gold. The house's windows sparkeled in the sun. The sun?

"Why is there a sun? And sky? Aren't we underground?" The others nodded in agreement with Isaac's question.

"I'll explain to you later. Right now, we need to care for your friend." The woman began running again.

"But, Alice is dead, right?" Garet looked more puzzled than before. The woman nodded as she rushed down the street.

"She seems dead, but there's something that only the Valmilians have discovered. You see, the spider's venom causes what seems to be death. It makes the pulse almost impossible to feel, and it makes the body grow cold. Unfortunately the victim is thought to be dead, and so is left to really die." Garet gasped as she finished.

"You mean we may be able to save her?" The woman nodded again. The whole group's spirit seemed to rise as they slowed down. The group finally halted in front of a small stone gate. It opened, revealing a long path to a gargantuan mansion. It was built with a similar style to the gate the party had just passed through. Its walls were of gray and white stones. Its windows were almost non-existent. The path there was made of large, flat, white and gray stone slabs. There was some sort of mortar between the slabs, making the walk neat and smooth.

When the seven reached the house, they realized how magnificent it really was. The doors were built with a thick wood, with beautiful designs carved into them. They were symmetrical stone statues surrounding the premise. All of the property seemed to be something of a dream.

"Wow, they really meant 'the greatest kingdom' in the legend, huh?" Isaac was shocked as the others, but the first to speak.

"Yes, it is. Why, my house is one of the smaller buildings." Garet's gaping mouth widened as the young woman spoke. "But no time to talk, we are running out of time to save your friend. She closed her eyes, mumbled something, and the tall door creaked open. "Follow me..." Her voice trailed as she hurried up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, there was a long hall, which the group rushed down until the reached a smaller blue door at the end of the hall.

"This is Mina's room. She is our resident healer, and Mercury Adept." The woman knocked on the door and waited. The sound of approaching footsteps was heard, until the door slowly opened. A young girl, seeming younger than Ivan, answered the call. "Mina..." The woman began to explain, but the girl immediately noticed Alice, and motioned the group to enter.

The room was quite large. as big as an entire inn. There was a beautiful blue marble oven, a blue bed fit for a queen, a blue glass table, in fact, almost everything in the room was blue.

"Set the girl on the bed in my guestroom. I will tend to her while you wait here." She pointed at the table. "Help yourself to any food." She walked swiftly to another room. Garet followed her, and returned a moment later.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself to you all earlier." The woman spoke as she sat down. "I am Lady Garla. I may not look like a proper woman in these work rags, but you should see me when I visit the king!" Garla smiled to herself, as the others chuckled.

"It is a real pleasure to meet such a beautiful Valmylian. I am Medius, the Venus Foriendor." Garla gasped.

"Your majesty, I did not recognize you! Please excuse me." She leapt from her seat to kneel on the blue ceramic floor.

"Please, you mustn't make such a great deal. In fact, I would prefer if you kept this to yourself. It would be a great burden to be worshiped by so many. Just act as if I were any other traveler." Garla nodded and returned to her seat.

"And I am Lord Isaac of Vale. These are my companions, Mia, Garet, and Ivan." Garla exchanged hellos with each, then turned to Isaac.

"Isaac, who are your parents?" With the mention of parents, Isaacs face darkened. Mia explained what had happened for him.

"Isaac's mother is Dora. His father, Kyle, however, was killed in the eruption of Mt. Aleph."

"Ah, I see. I'm so sorry Isaac!" Isaac's face lightened a little as he gave a weak smile. "But this is wonderful news. The king's prophet, a Jupiter Adept known as Pashee, had predicted the coming of a great warrior. A descendant of Kyle and Dora of Venusa." Isaac's faced turned to complete surprise after she finished.

"Did you say Venusa?" Garla nodded. "But..then...how...how do you know about Venusa?" His shock and knowledge of the place surprised his companions.

"What's Venusa, Isaac?" Mia's question was not answered by Isaac, but by Garla.

"Venusa is a hidden village in the mountains. It used to be where the Venus Temple, home to the earth god Venus, was. Eventually it was destroyed. A large village was created from its ruins, and Venusa was born." Isaac became even more shocked.

"Um, yes, well, that's part of it. But really, how do you know about Venusa?" Garla just smiled and turned her head. Mina had just exited the guest room, Alice slumped over her shoulder sleeping.

"Well, your friend should be all right, when she awakens." Mina looked deeply into Isaacs eyes as she spoke. He suddenly grabbed at his head, let out a scream, and fainted. Mia and Garla jumped from their seats, Medius, Garet, and Ivan caught him as he collapsed. Mina stood staring, a faint smile formed on her pursed lips.

"Isaac, wake up!" Garla ahouted into his ears as Mia tried to heal her. While the four fussed over Isaac, Mina dropped Alice to the floor and rushed out the door.

"You, on the other hand, will not be so lucky!" As she ran down the hall towards the stairs, she slid her finger-nails around her neck, cutting it. She dug her fingers into the crack, and pulled off a mask! She laughed evily as she hurried out the door and down the long path.

"Mr. Hilters!" The gate." Garla screamed out the door. A tall, thin man in a brown tuxedo walked swiftly to the door, and stepped outside. He began shouting out a chant, identical to the one Garla had used to open the gate. The gate glowed, then disappeared. A boulder took its place, and the man returned to his room. When the Mina-imposter reached the boulder, she cursed and began floating. She flew into the air, and zoomed right over the boulder. Garla, who was watcvhing out the window, got up and slammed her foot onto the floor.

"Oh, how could she escape?" She frowned and returned to Isaac's side. he had just woken up, but was still tired and weak. "Are you all right?" He nodded, then closed his eyes. Ivan and Garls layed him down on a nearby bench, and Garet returned Alice to the bed in the guest room.

"Garla, I thought you said Mina was a Mercury healer." Mia was surprised Mina had been able to fly. Garla sighed, and looked down.

"That was not Mina. That was Anne, a Jupiter Adept. She is...no. I should not be the one to tell you this. Tomorrow, you will see the king. He will explain everything to you. Venusa, also. Come now, you must rest. Garet, Medius, you grab Alice and Isaac and follow me." She opened the door and walked down the hall a ways. she stopped between two doors. "These rooms are guest rooms. The girls can go her on the right, and the boys will enter on the left. Isaac will stay with the girls. He needs to be with Mia, so she can heal him." They all nodded, but Mia still looked worried.

"But Garla, if that woman, Anne I believe, was not a true healer, then must I also heal Alice?" Garla paused for a moment, then answered.

"Yes, I believe you are correct." Mia nodded and opened the door. She, along with Medius and Garet, entered the room. The two men dropped off their "passengers" on the two empty beds, and followed Ivan into their room. "I will see you all tomorrow then." Said Garla, as she walked closed the two doors.

After she was gone, Ivan let out a long sigh, and went right to sleep on his bed.

"Man, I'm hungry!" Though Garet was always hungry, Medius agreed.

"Yes, but where can we get food?" The two looked around the room. The searched every door and closet, but alas, found nothing. As Garet collapsed on the bed, a knock sounded at the door. Medius catuiosuly pulled on the iron handle, and creaked the door ajar. Standing in the hall, was the butler, Mr. Hilters.

"Here are some clean clothes, and a small meal. Goodnight sir." He bowed and shut the heavy, wood door. Garet jumped up.

"Did I hear the word, 'meal?'" Before Medius could answer, Garet snatched the gold platter and began eating right away. "Mmmmm, roast chicken." Medius laughed and joined the boy at the table. They talked and laughed long into the evening, until finally they could barely keep their eyes open.

"Man, I'm exhausted!" Garet pulled on the clean, brown robes and pulled himself into the bed. Medius did the same, and soon the were asleep. Fast asleep.

***

The next morning, Isaac and Alice were the first two up. Mr. Hilters visited their room again and dropped off breakfast. They felt uneasy as they ate the bacon, eggs, toast, ham, and juice. The two had never eaten such a large fancy meal, especially for breakfast. Of course, they were too hungry to care, and began shoving as much of the meal as they could into their mouths.

When Mia awoke, all that was left of the monstrous breakfast was a piece of bacon and a small glass of juice. Mia saw her two friends bulging stomachs, and smiled.

"You two are worse than Garet!" They all shared laughter until they heard a knock at the door. Mia scurried over and pulled it open. There were Ivan and Medius, a half-asleep Garet in their arms.

"Mind if he rests here?" Medius asked, half chuckling. "He ate too much, and threw up on all three of our beds. Isaac, Mia, and Alice burst into laughter and tried to nod as they collapsed on the floor, tears rolling down their cheeks.

"Hey! It really isn't that funny." Garet tried to speak as chunks of digested bacon, eggs, and more spewed out of his mouth, all over the beautiful emerald carpeting.

"Oh Garet! Look what you've done to Miss Garla's beautiful carpet. You shoulde be ashamed of yourself!" Garet looked at his feet, trying to hold "it" in. Suddenly, he started gagging again and rushed to the chamber pot. Mia rolled her eyes and invited the others in. As Isaac closed the door, Garla shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"Wait, Isaac. I can talk to you about Venusa now, if you want." Isaac opened the door and nodded his head.

"Yes, I can tell the others of it too." She smiled and climbed up the long wooden staircase.

Finally, they were all seated around the table. Ivan, Alice, and Medius had pulled chairs up to the four-person table. Garet was seated next to Mia as she continuously cast Ply on him. Isaac sat close to her, and Garla sat at the head.

"Centuries ago, only humans and animals lived on the earth. Along with four Gods: Mercury was ruler of water, Mars was ruler of fire, Jupiter ruled the wind, and Venus was God of the earth. For many years, all being lived in peace. But eventually, the Gods became greedy and power-hungry. They began warring and fighting. Soon, they had destroyed people, their temples, and themselves. All that remained of them was their elemental stones. For years, people thought the Gods were gone, but before they had been destroyed, they had sent their energy to a human. Medius, your great, great, great grandfather was the 'Venus Elder.' He was the first Venus Adept. He has lived, and will live forever in Venusa." Everyone but Isaac stood with their mouths wide open.

"Wow, that sure is a lot, but you still haven't told us what Venusa is." Garla nodded and smiled at Isaac.

"Isaac, I thought you might explain what Venusa is. Isaac paused, then began.

"Venusa is a village. You see, after the Venus temple was destroyed, Medius Sr. and his wife started reproducing. As they continued to have children, and their children had children, more and more Adepts appeared. This scared the 'normal' humans away. Soon, out of the ruins of the temple, a HUGE village appeared. Hundreds of Adepts lived in the village. The homes were made of pieces and foundations from the temple. They also left the temple ruins and used them for worshiping. Unforunantly, the Venus jewel, located under a mountain in the temple ruins, was extrememly valuable. Many people from all over the world wanted it. So, it was removed from its 'home' and taken somewhere safer. The people of Venusa didn't know it, but removing an elemental jewel can cause the dissentegration of that element in nature. And so, the earth began to disappear, and the busy village shrank. Most Adepts feared their end, and left to create a new village, Vale. But some Adepts remained, like my parents. Finally, the jewel was retunred to its proper place, and the village, now much smaller, returned to normal. Many Adepts left because of the overcrowding. My parents and I left to Vale also." Mia interrupted.

"So you really aren't from Vale are you? You are from Venusa." Isaac nodded.

"Yes, my true hometown is Venusa. I have always hoped to return there someday. Unfortunantly, it is a hidden village, and even my parents have forgotton its true location." Garla smiled, her eyes twinkled int eh morning light.

"Well, I guess that's all, right Isaac?" Isaac agreed. It was time for the party to meet the king.

"Well, you'd all better get some nice clothes on. I'll have Mr. Hilters bring you some beautiful robes I made last year. How about a different color for each clan?" The six guests smiled and talked amongst themselves about how exciting all there adventures had been, and would be.

Several minutes after Garla had left, Mr. Hilters arrived with the robes. Mia took a blue one, Garet and Alice a red, Ivan a white, and Isaac and Medius brown. After they were dressed, Mr. Hilters led them down the stairs to the great room, where they saw the true Lady Garla for the first time.

"Oh! You look beautiful, Garla." Jenna and Mia cooed over her beautiful silk brown robes, pearl necklace, and gold tiara. Garla smiled and thanked the two for their kindness.

"Well, I guess we'll be off then." Mr. Hilters led the seven to the door and held it open for them as they walked down the long path. After they finally stepped through the gate, and carriage suddenly appeared. The door opened and a young man in more brown robes stepped out.

"I have a ride for Lord Isaac to Mardos' palace." Garla nodded and the seven climbed into the surprisingly spacey coach. The group didn't talk much on the way to the palace. They were too busy looking out the windows at all the beautiful buildings. All of them seemed to be made of gold, but when the carriage came to a halt, the six visitiors were amazed at its beauty. Gold, silver, and diamond were everywhere. The palace seemed to reach high into the sky.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see King Mardos!" Garla smiled as the approached the stairs leading to the main doors. But, an old woman, dressed in grey robes with shiny purple hair, stopped her.

"Garla, it is so good to see you. So where is that Mardos' new warrior?" Garla turned and smiled, pointing at Isaac. When the woman saw him she gasped. "Isaac?" Isaac seemed just as surprised.

"Master Hama!" Mia shouted in delight. "So you know of Valmyle too!"

"Yes." She replied. "This is my hometown!"