Shining In The Darkness
A Tale of Sol and Luna
Chapter Eight: A Hundred Thousand Alchemies
"Got him," said Garet, with a tired satisfaction, seeing Orian lying still on the surface of the Aerie. He wasn't dead, of course, Charon couldn't kill humans. "Perfect timing, Sheba."
"Thanks," she said, turning around. "I'll see if I can… where's Ivan?"
"Any time one of you wants to help out is fine with me. I'll just hang on until then, huh?"
Sheba ran toward the place his voice was coming from, at the Lighthouse's edge. A few fingers held onto the edge. She leapt over Garet and Picard, landed lightly, and made the mistake of looking down. "Oh, gods, this is embarrassing. No Jupiter Adept should have vertigo," she said queasily, turning away.
"I may develop it for about thirty seconds while I'm falling if you don't help!" Sheba flung out an arm and Ivan was launched over the edge by a sudden updraft, crashing down in front of her. The impact knocked the air out of his lungs, but he managed to draw enough in to thank her.
"Sheba, in the plated pocket on my right shoulder…" said Felix, weakly. She opened the oddly protected pouch, and inside Sheba found a vial filled with an intensely verdant substance. She pressed the lever on top and a cloud fountained up, settling over the fallen Adepts and sparkling brightly.
"Mist potion," Jenna realised as she gained the strength to move again. "You're prepared for just about everything, aren't you, brother?"
"I actually once built a device for lighting a fire on a rainy night with cold wind coming from the north and being pestered by up to seventeen bats," the Venus Adept said, perhaps serious, perhaps not, but definitely bragging to the others.
"Yeah, you were just full of fun before Saturos and Menardi dragged you off. I always thought it spoke well of their endurance that they never killed you," Jenna replied.
"This isn't the time to be joking," said Garet, rather sharply. The siblings looked at him, a little embarrassed, wishing they had kept quiet. Humour seemed hollow at a time like this. There should have been eight of them now standing at the Aerie. Garet nodded toward the prone form of Orian. "Let's deal with Sol's greatest mistake."
"What do you mean, 'deal'?" asked Ivan. "You don't-"
"He does," Mia interjected, angrily. "Garet, think for a second. You know that killing Orian won't solve anything."
"It just might stop him from killing us if he gets the chance to get back up again," Garet retorted. "He wasn't exactly broken up about blasting us just now, was he? I know we said Lycoris was the main threat, but that doesn't make him safe!"
"Use your head, Garet! You can't just go around killing all the bad guys! It doesn't work!"
Felix slipped away from the sparking argument and went to Orian, who was lying facedown on the tile, staring at the soft glow with unseeing eyes. He waited, sure that the downed Adept wasn't quite as broken as he appeared. After a moment, he blinked. Felix grinned, just slightly.
"You really did turn your back too soon," the Venus Adept commented.
"See the goal, not the obstacles," said Orian, though he barely moved. "It's all about the goal. The rest is just background." Felix's brow furrowed- he vaguely remembered those words. Orian smiled. "You said that, at Shaman Village. Just entering Trial Road. It's become a popular saying among those who appreciate you."
"That's right," Felix realised. "How did you know?"
"I know a great deal about you. Felix the Slayer. Defender of Venus, just like Isaac. But everyone pays attention to him. You're too much of a loner to be really popular. …I really would enjoy being turned over a bit," said Orian, hopefully. Felix's expression turned harder. "No, I don't expect you to trust me. Psynergy, for all I care. I'd just like not to be pressed against the stone. It makes it difficult to talk."
Felix looked dissatisfied for a moment, but knelt anyway, and turned Orian onto his back. "That could have been a stupid move, but somehow I don't think you're the type." The boy turned his head, just slightly, to see his right hand. The fingertips were twitching.
"Good. Charon hasn't broken me for good, I think. That was an impressive tactic, you know. Charon is very close to Luna Psynergy. He's one of the few forces that can actually harm me."
Felix wasn't in the mood for the casual, pointless conversation Orian seemed to be trying for. "Isaac may be the popular one everywhere else, but he was still my friend. A friend to all of us. And your sister killed him while we were trying to race you up here. So mind telling me why I should listen to you ramble instead of exacting a bit of proxy vengeance?"
"Oh, very well." The Sol Adept smiled, and with some interest Felix saw that it was real. Lycoris had smiled occasionally, in a predatory manner that not even Karst could manage, but Orian looked sincere. Something in the eyes, the silvery grey, that was genuinely peaceful. "Lycoris and I come from a village in the northwestern part of Angara, further than Bilibin. You've probably never been there, it's in the thick forest between a few mountains. We weren't Adepts, you know. At least, I don't think we were. One night we went out into the forest, and found a Psy Crystal. We didn't know what it was, I think."
"Why do you keep saying that?" asked Felix. He glanced back at the Adepts. To his slight surprise, Garet was still arguing with the rest of them, and no one seemed to have noticed yet that Felix was gone.
"Because I don't really remember much before that night. A few things, but every image is patchy, every sound is half-forgotten… Perhaps we gained Psynergy that night, perhaps we were simply strengthened. But since then we have wandered Weyard, seeing everything for the first time. It is a wide and wondrous place, you know. But filled with suffering, so much pain…" Orian shut his eyes, and Felix wondered what memory was running through his mind.
"It's not all bad," said Felix, wishing this were over and he could be back in Vale. Some people got tired of home, and wanted to explore. Felix felt as though his home was the one place he didn't really know.
"But it shouldn't be like this. That's what we decided, Lycoris and I. We realised that we were unique, the only Adepts of Luna and Sol in the entire world, and that we had greater power than anyone. We began searching for a something, a decisive edge to use if anyone decided to resist us."
"A war of conquest. Great plan," muttered Felix, sitting down on the steps to the Well.
"There are cities on this world ruled by men who care nothing for their people!" snapped Orian, jerking his head up. "And there are people who can barely survive, lacking even food and homes!" The Sol Adept's sudden rage startled Felix, but he was certain that if Orian could move more than his neck, he already would have. He settled down slightly, leaning back and staring at the black, starry sky. "I won't stand by and let that be."
"You might have considered other options," Felix suggested, offhandedly.
"People who don't care about anyone else aren't going to listen to rational debate. But they will listen to one who controls the power of the four elements, who can call up storms, fires, earthquakes and tides! It wouldn't take much, but we needed to be safe. We couldn't trust anyone but ourselves, we knew. It had to be us, only us. We roamed the lands, speaking to many people, learning the tales of Weyard. And everywhere we went, we heard of the great Defenders of the Elements.
"The story was always a little different, being passed from person to person, but we noticed the things that were consistent, things that made sense. The quest of Isaac and Garet of Vale, and Ivan, the mysterious child who read minds, and Mia, one of the last of the Imilian healers. But those who knew of Saturos and Menardi also spoke of a few others. Jenna, held hostage by the two Proxans, and her distant, brooding brother, Felix, who followed the others but acted on his own wishes."
"I guess that's pretty accurate," said Felix, wishing people would stop referring to him as brooding. It made him sound like a slightly outgoing hermit, or a serial killer who hadn't snapped yet.
"And of course Sheba. And then much later, when we happened to pass through Madra, we heard about Picard. Lycoris… developed sort of an obsession with Isaac, though, the more tales we were told. He seemed to be the ultimate hero, never failing, fighting only for what he believed to be right. It was a rather different result than what her own beliefs would have predicted for an altruist. She swore to find him one day, and see what made him so special."
Felix, who had almost been feeling relaxed, resting in the light of the Sol Lighthouse beacon, snapped his head around and almost snarled outright. "She got what she wanted, then, didn't she?" he growled, and Orian looked away. "For that matter, I seem to recall that you just tried to kill us, so how about you get to the-"
"Didn't you pay any attention? I immobilised you, sapped your strength. I wouldn't have killed you. Once I had the Star, there would be no need to fight," Orian replied, almost angrily.
"Then maybe you haven't been paying attention. Isaac wasn't the only one of us who stood for what he believed in, who wouldn't back down. Even if you got the Star, we'd have fought," Felix assured him coldly. His own anger at the moment was coming mostly from the memory of the last conversation between himself and Isaac, before he went into the final battle at Mars Lighthouse.
"I don't really understand it all. You're the hero."
"You've got more on your side than you might guess, Felix. You do have love, even you don't quite see how it works yet, and know who you are, what you believe in. So be the hero, or whatever it is that you want. You don't need anything else."
"But I can't do this! I'm not strong enough-"
"This is your fight, Felix, not mine. Mine was back at Venus Lighthouse, and I felt the same way you do now. Don't worry. You'll do what you have to, when you see it."
"And you?"
"I have somewhere to be, and I'm already late. I'll see you when this is all over."
"You'd have died," Orian said, a little disbelieving.
"Well then, I guess you're not as well-versed in Elemental-Defender information as you thought. Certain doom hasn't stopped us before," Felix reminded him.
"Lycoris was insane about finding Isaac-"
"Bad news, kid, but your sister's insane all over. Fully stocked in crazy."
"-But you were always my favourite, you know. I don't really see the point of the perfect hero. I like real people," Orian continued.
"Ideally as your minions," Felix muttered, rising to his feet.
"It's actually hard to believe that I'm actually here talking to you. Felix the Slayer! I've heard it said that you walked the ropes of the Kandorean Temple blindfolded while being attacked by bats-"
"If you really thought I was so impressive, I doubt you'd be doing what you're doing," said Felix.
"Which one of you is underselling Felix?" asked Picard, walking almost leisurely over to them.
"Him," said Orian, and twitched a finger Felix's way.
"I should have expected as much," the Mercury Adept continued.
"You know, he did try to take over the world. And it's indirectly his fault that Isaac is dead."
"Lemurians have never really taken an interest in the concept of vengeance."
"They're still fighting?" asked Felix, glancing back at the other Adepts.
"I noticed you over here and asked Jenna to prolong things a bit."
"You're not always right, you know. Just because you're heroes. Even Isaac fought Saturos and Menardi, and their goal was to rescue the world," Orian pointed out, straining his neck to see the Adepts standing at his feet.
"The goal of Saturos and Menardi was supposed to be the salvation of the planet. That wasn't how it ended up. They went power mad," Picard replied, calmly.
"And how do you think your sister is going to handle this, Orian? Even if she still believes in all your noble goals right now. Do you think Lycoris would hold onto all of that when she had the Sol Star's power in her control?" asked Felix, thinking frantically, hoping that if he didn't stop talking, he might hit on something persuasive. "You know you can't trust her. She's not really interested in doing good anymore, is she? Even if that's how you started. Lycoris wants the power, and then she'll be just like she is now, but too strong." A sudden flash of inspiration struck him. "She was the one who opened the seal on Sol Lighthouse, wasn't she? Luna can break even Sol's power. You couldn't stop her, not if she got the Sol Star. She could even stop you."
Orian was silent for a moment, and Felix dared to hope that he had gotten through, that Orian might at least stand aside, if not help them stop Lycoris, who wouldn't be slowed down much longer by the labyrinth. She was probably blasting a trail of destruction to the top right now.
"No," he said, at last, and a thrill of success ran through the Venus Adept. But Orian went on. "No, that won't happen. I'll remind her of what it's all about. I'll keep Lycoris from going out of control. Force isn't the solution. She'll listen to me. We'll make it all right." Felix groaned. Orian's plan sounded good, flawless, like a utopia, if you had the common sense and world experience of a stunned sheep.
"Perhaps you would have. But that is not really the issue now. You are already quite defeated," Picard pointed out, tactfully. "No matter your beliefs or choices, you can't lift a finger."
"True," Orian admitted, looking away. "But I'll still get the Star, and I will win this battle."
"Care to explain how? Start with the masterful strategy that'll get you on your feet," said Felix.
Orian looked past both of the Adepts. "She'll help me."
Felix and Picard moved before Orian had even closed his mouth on the last syllable. Both drew their swords and spun around into guarding stances, each one catching a dark-glowing blade of Psynergy. Lycoris smiled and twirled the daggers between her fingers before coming in low on each side, stabbing viciously. They leapt back, and Felix chanced a glance toward the others, fearful of what she might have done before attacking them.
Not much to worry about, since taking down five Adepts silently was about as easy as cutting through a tree with a cotton scarf. The silent part had apparently been managed, since Jenna appeared to be screaming furiously but soundlessly, and the others were apparently muted too. They had been stuck to the spot as well, but only Garet and Sheba had been hit badly, and Mia was already at work on the scorched gashes. At the same time, several scorched divots in the Aerie's surface closed over like water.
"If Isaac couldn't take me on, even both of you at once aren't going to do much good," Lycoris pointed out, looking rather amused. She gestured over her shoulder. "See to your friends. Then we can do this properly." Felix and Picard looked at each other, and with a nod from his ally, Felix ran for the other Adepts.
"I think it is about time this was ended," Picard said in a low tone.
"Going to stick around, are you? Well, it's a shame. I understand Lemurians are supposed to live for centuries," the Luna Adept replied with a dark laugh. Her long, spiky hair rose up as though the wind were blowing from below, and with a flourish she cast a charge of Luna Psynergy at Picard.
She hadn't expected the work of the greatest blacksmith on Weyard, though. Picard preferred the weight of his great sword, but at times like these, watching the black bolt ricochet off his blade, he truly enjoyed having his Mythril Blade. And, of course, he had never seen weapon Psynergy he liked more.
"Going to try again? I can reflect all day, if you'd like," Picard offered with a grin that looked more confident than he felt, the same way Prox was colder than Magma Rock. As he expected, Lycoris merged the two violet-black daggers into a Psynergy sword, and dashed at him, wanting nothing more than to slash that smile from his face.
Lemurian swordfighting isn't a commonly known art, having rarely been taught to anyone outside the enclosed city, ever since the veil of mist was formed. But it was one worth seeing, especially against a nimble opponent, and the other Adepts, in the midst of recovering, took a few seconds just to watch the spectacle.
Lycoris' attacks were continuous, never wasting a moment between slice and thrust, but she never seemed to reach flesh, and Picard's sword whipped around her guard with unreal efficiency. Every time he struck at Lycoris, she tried to hit an open space, but the Lemurians' art was well-crafted, and every motion was both attack and defence.
Picard struck at last, an unexpected stab that caught Lycoris in the leg. She bit down on any sound, but the Psynergy keeping the others silent and immobile broke and faded.
"At last," gasped Garet. "Jenna, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm agile. You're the massive lunk who prefers to take hits instead of dodge."
"Glad to hear it," he replied, knowing she was only joking. He reached out and grabbed her hand for a moment, squeezing it to bolster his own courage. "Ready to take them?"
"Been waiting for you," she answered, and the Mars Adepts rushed toward Lycoris together.
The Luna Adept saw them coming, and looked at her brother, still recovering. She waved a hand, and a column of shadows flashed onto him. "Help me out here, would you, dear brother?"
"It's about time you got around to me," Orian answered, gratefully, stretching his stiff arms. Garet and Jenna were only a few steps from Picard's side when he cast Psynergy. "Banishing Burn!" It was another form of the Psynergy he had used in their second encounter, but rather than an all-encompassing scorching heat, this was a concentrated blast that exploded up in front of Jenna, a rising wall of white fire that even she would not dare to cross.
"Change of plans?" said Garet, skidding to a halt and looking toward Orian.
"I'm good with that," Jenna agreed.
Orian wasn't a warrior by any means, preferring not to use any sort of physical weaponry, but that didn't make him less dangerous, as they already knew. A cry of "Wrathful Wave!" sent a ripple in space hurtling towards the Mars Adepts. They dove apart, and it ground into the floor, leaving not a mark but sending echoes down into the foundations of the Lighthouse.
Jenna enjoyed this sort of battle. She didn't have to worry about cutting edges and all those other gory elements of combat, except as they applied to her own attacks. Psynergy was the only threat, and when facing a goal, obstacles, no matter how dangerous, were almost fun to work around. As if proving her point, these thoughts had been passing through her head as she ducked under another wave, twisted around a third, cleared a jet of white flame, and made a near-perfect strike, though Orian spun quickly enough that it only bit into his arm.
"Sorry we're late," said Ivan, appearing beside them with Lachesis' Rule at the ready. "I wanted to make sure Sheba was okay."
"He's just jealous because he doesn't have healing Psynergy," Sheba added, grinning.
"You really don't understand, I suppose. Otherwise you'd have given up by now," said Orian, drawing a hand over the wound and sealing it. "I'm a Sol Adept. The power of Alchemy, the binding of all the lesser elements." Lights flashed around him as Orian called up a fraction of the considerable power he had in this place.
"So we've heard, but so far-" began Garet.
"I can make the flames follow tides." Orian gestured and threw a blanket of fire over the Adepts. It washed past them in a burst of scorching intense heat, but set nothing more ablaze, and spread on impact with the floor until it disintegrated, like water splashing from a height. "Or waves that flare and spark," he continued, calling up a sudden torrent that flickered like a bonfire as it moved. The gathered Adepts were taken off their feet by the assault, but a series of falling clay spires crashed into its path.
"Do you do card tricks, too?" asked Felix, looking unimpressed.
"Winds as solid as stone," Orian went on, smashing Felix to the Aerie's smooth golden surface with an unseen gust. He raised his arms, and boulders rose from the ground far below. "And earth as fluid and devastating as a hurricane." The rocks flew together and merged, melting and twisting into a madly whirling spiral that hurtled among the others with wickedly damaging results.
"Some assistance would be greatly appreciated!" shouted Picard, who was tiring quickly. The only point the Lemurians hadn't considered with their techniques was that they weren't easy to sustain. This had never been a problem in the past, as most opponents surrendered or were cut down with admirable alacrity, but Lycoris moved inhumanly. She didn't have fancy tactics, simply the ability to see the one least-defended point and get her blade there as fast as possible.
Mia had been hanging back, much drained after chilling the magma and then healing Garet and Sheba, but she knew she couldn't wait any longer. Lycoris struck once, a jarring blow that nearly shook the Mythril Blade from Picard's grasp.
"Unleash Saviour!" shouted Mia, and the spirit appeared over her in a shower of sparks. Lycoris didn't notice Mia's actions, but she did see the pulse of light in Picard's golden eyes, and it worried her. The Luna Adept lashed out, a jarring blow that nearly shook the Mythril Blade out of his hands. Given a moment's time, Lycoris reached out and placed a hand on Picard's chest.
"Stillborn," she hissed, and with a twinge of power, stopped the Lemurian's heart. Picard choked for a moment, then staggered back. Lycoris pressed the assault, slashing him twice more before he collapsed. She was just about to join Orian in dealing with the rest of them when a flicker of light came from Picard. "That's never something you want to see from the corpse of an enemy," she muttered.
"He's not dead yet," said Mia defiantly from behind Lycoris.
"No one could revive him that fast. He went from good to dead in a second," Lycoris snapped, turning to face Mia. "I know the limitations of your powers, you couldn't be that fast."
"Maybe the old ones," the Mercury Adept replied. Saviour flared brightly over Picard, and tiny rays of light ran along his injuries, closing them, and colour returned to his deathly pale face. It was true that all the 'revival' Psynergies, those that could restore someone with a mortal wound, usually had only a short time to be used. And, since she could be unleashed before the blow was struck, that was Saviour's greatest advantage.
"What the hell is that?!" demanded Lycoris when Saviour made her entrance.
"By the Spirits," whispered Orian, seeing the events from further away. "A Sol Djinni."
"You like it?" called Felix, pleasantly. Lycoris turned and glared at him. "Wanna see another? Unleash Aeon!" Realising that the secret of the Sol Djinn was gone, but they still had a few moments of surprise, Felix wasted no time, and threw his sword at the Luna Adept. Aeon's power guided it through the air on a perfect course, glowing like a comet until it hit.
The point drove into Lycoris' abdomen, too far to the side for a lethal strike, but still dropping her to the floor with a cry of pain as power of all the elements discharged. Still cringing in pain, Lycoris pulled Excalibur from her side and flung the blade away, over the edge. Ivan snapped out a hand and charged Jupiter power in his palm, catching the sword in a magnetic grip and drawing it back into his hand.
"This is not the time to be throwing sacred weaponry about," he said, throwing it back to Felix.
Picard, now fully restored from Lycoris' attacks, got to his feet. "Thanks for the help," he said, bowing his head to Mia with a smile. "Shall we?"
Mia shook her head, catching Lycoris' furious gaze. "No. I'll handle her for now. Help the others- Orian's only going to get stronger as long as he's near the beacon." Picard hesitated, seeing the logic, but also knowing why Mia was offering to take his place. He agreed after a moment's thought, resolving to keep an eye on them both.
"You think you can take me, do you? You think that you're going to do better than your boyfriend?" asked Lycoris, dark Psynergy seeping in between the fingers of the hand over her wound.
"You think you can use some pathetic taunts to distract me?" asked Mia in return.
"It worked on him."
"Lycoris, I wouldn't dare get angry here. Nothing you say is going to make me lose focus."
"And why's that?"
"I'm too interested in seeing you beaten into a deep grave."
"Going to kill me, little healer girl? You don't seem the type."
Mia raised a hand and called Saviour back into her, rising to Disciple class again. "I'm a foot taller and a few years older than you. And it seems to me that if you don't believe I'd do it, that's just another point in my favour. Now get up."
"Another one," muttered Orian as Picard ran to the others, but they were still trying to deal with the stone twister. "I feel that this is a less-than-equal division of forces."
"This would be a very good time for that new Psynergy I mentioned a few dozen times," Infinity pointed out. "Exactly this situation, in fact, would be good timing. I mean, it would have been good with the Mortacles down below, or any number of other times, but hey, if you want to try something else-"
"Okay!" said Sheba, ducking as a chip flew off the spinning rock funnel. She looked into her mind, searching for the new power that Infinity kept bringing up. There didn't seem to be anything unusual, except for the strangest feeling buried deeper down. It was familiar, somehow, a kind of Psynergy she had used once before. Something about it, the colour or the tone of the thought, she had seen before…
Mia whipped Clotho's Distaff into line, stopping Lycoris' slash, and flipped it around, grazing the Luna Adept's jaw. Lycoris withdrew, and Mia planted the staff's end on the Aerie's surface, vaulting around it and kicking the girl in the stomach. She staggered under the blow, but came back on the offensive quickly with short jabs that were too quick to parry. It was impossible to stop them all, and after only a moment of two Mia was bleeding from four shallow wounds. She backed off, drew up power, and released a Glacier.
Lycoris looked surprised, as though she had forgotten about Psynergy, but still waved a hand at the gathering ice, which turned black and shattered. Her Psynergy blade whipped around again, clashing several times off Clotho's Distaff. "You know," said Lycoris to Mia, their weapons locked, "at least Isaac was smart enough to demand no Psynergy used. You're really doomed now."
"Not really," Mia growled, her teeth gritted as she fought against the press of Lycoris' weapon. "I actually know what on Weyard to do with it. Ice Missile!" From the head of the healer's staff a salvo of ice shards flew, glowing blue and blasting Lycoris away, bleeding.
"Okay," she seethed in a satanic singsong voice, and black energy crackled all around her. "Time to meet the Bitch of Darkness!" Lycoris stalked forward, gathering power, and the shadows seemed to fill with spectres, sights no living person would ever want to see. Mia stood fast, and focused her own Psynergy. It might indeed be hopeless, but that had never stopped any of them before. Nor would it now.
Garet crouched, bracing for impact, and struck at the earth tornado as it neared him, smashing into it with the Big Bang Gloves. It fractured slightly, but the pain that shuddered through his knuckles suggested that this wasn't a great strategy.
It was just like wielding the Tamer's Whip, Sheba realised. The power to call up minor forces, creatures composed purely of Psynergy. She opened her eyes, shining bright purple, and saw the stone tornado rushing toward her. Sheba hoped for a moment that the Psynergy was as strong as it felt, and raised a hand.
"Triumphant!" Smoke coalesced from the clear air, twisting into a vast shape and pluming into long tusks. The creature was an elephant, armored in ethereal gold with a white cloud instead of legs. The Triumphant rocketed forward with a deafening trumpet and smashed headlong into the earthen twister, blasting it to shards in a flash of sparks. Sheba watched the strike with a little awe. "Okay, so you were right. That was a good one."
"Of course I was right! I'm a Sol Djinni!" replied Infinity.
"Right," Sheba agreed, grinning.
"And you do what again?" asked Ivan, looking to Oracle with a 'care to match that' expression.
"Resourceful," said Orian, studying the gathered Adepts pensively. "I hate resourceful enemies. Ballistic Burn!" Crackling white bolts flew from his hands, trailing small explosions as they ricocheted off the Aerie's perfect surface and, on painful occasions, Adepts. The Psynergy shots were like combat fireworks, and they never died, always gaining Psynergy from Orian, who drew strength from the beacon's light.
The Adepts scrambled to avoid the blasts, which weren't aimed but instead caused damage through sheer speed and volume. Even Ivan, fastest of them all, couldn't see the threats coming until it was too late. All he needed was an extra second or two…
"I'm about to be the only thing that gets you through this!" replied Oracle as Ivan dropped to the floor and a bolt burned overhead. "Now!"
"All right already! Unleash Oracle!" The Djinni flared brightly, diving into Ivan. The Jupiter Adept closed his eyes against the glow for a moment, and when he opened them again, Ivan thought he might have double vision. But after a second or two he realised that the two images were supposed to be there. The fainter one was always a little bit ahead of the 'real' image. It was a vision of the near future, a perfect prediction.
Ivan had those extra seconds he wanted. Orian watched in worried amazement as Ivan juked, dodged, and leapt over every blast, once ducking under a shot before it was even reflected his way. It was hypnotic, almost like a dance, and Orian was so captivated that he was barely starting to move when Lachesis' Rule clipped him in the temple. As with the various other continuing Psynergies the Adepts had seen Orian and Lycoris use, the moment his concentration broke, the bolts faded.
"You know, Orian," called Felix, taking a few steps up the stairs to the well, "you got it wrong."
"What?" he groaned, slowing standing. Ivan was standing nearby with a confident smile on his face, and Orian took a moment to blast the Jupiter Adept off his feet, back down to the others. Fortunately for Ivan, Garet caught him before he struck the tiles again.
"The part about goals and ignoring obstacles. I didn't mean that the only important thing is the victory, that you don't think about right and wrong if you mean well. I meant that you can't focus on everything in the way, you have to see the path to take past them. It's never about the ending," said Felix.
"He's getting the hang of heroic philosophy, too," Sheba commented, and Jenna nodded.
"And now what? You tell me I'm wrong, that how you do things is more important than what you do, and now I'm supposed to go all 'I've seen the error of my ways'?" asked Orian, sarcasm breaking through his usual wall of calm control. "It's not happening, Felix."
"You still don't get it," Felix muttered, shaking his head. "Oh well. I really didn't expect you to understand." He looked back at Mia, in midst of Psynergy combat with Lycoris, and then to the Adepts around him. "Let's go. And Orian, maybe I can explain it in a little more detail when we're done."
Golden light exploded up around Orian, and he rose from the ground, surrounded in a vast aura of Psynergy. The Sol beacon flashed, and a shaft of light shot from its core, illuminating the Sol Adept from behind and casting his face into deep shadow. "If you'll excuse me, I have a Star to obtain." Lightning struck the four sage statues around the Well.
Sheba gasped, seeming shocked to the centre of her being. Atropos' Rod started to slip from her hold, though she caught it quickly again. A fraction of a second later Ivan jerked with surprise as well, but he recovered faster, trying to gain his composure again. Felix was about to ask if they were okay, if something had gone wrong, but they had to stop Orian, who apparently knew what he was doing.
"Fell Wind!" shouted Lycoris, and the air charged with a sickening, decaying power.
"Deluge!" countered Mia, and a great wave rose from her Psynergy, overwhelming the gust and crushing it beneath the currents, but Lycoris' own blast cut the wave in half, protecting herself and sending Mia rolling to the side. She leapt up and charged, planting the staff, vaulting over top, and grinning as it smashed into Lycoris' ribs. The battle raged on.
Slowly the beacon's light was fading, shrinking down to the Star at its centre. The great whirling sphere, a storm of light that surrounded it, was dying, even as Orian dodged the attacks of the Adepts. The quenching of the Lighthouse had been set into motion, and now he was simply stalling them.
"What do you think?" asked Jenna, and Justice had to think only for a moment.
"Do it," she decided.
"Unleash Justice!" Golden light burst from Jenna's Tisiphone Edge, several rays that not even Orian could move fast enough to avoid. He was picked out of the air, but the only thing that could withstand Sol's power was Sol again, and Orian was soon back on his feet. He raised both hands, not needing words for Psynergy with this much power so nearby. He simply asked, and from the glow of each palm a metal prong sprang out, curving wickedly into ridiculously long claws.
They broke away, hovering in the air, and with a gesture Orian sent them sweeping at the Adepts. Ivan and Sheba reacted quickly, she halting it with a dense wall of air, and he melting the blade with a cry of "Storm Ray!" The other, however, moved unstoppably toward the others.
Felix fell as quickly as he could, not fast enough, but Garet reacted to the Djinni's shout in his head and called out. "Unleash Seraph!" He shut his eyes, heard a crackle of energy, and when he opened them the claw was stuck, clattering off a barrier that flared yellow where the blade was grinding against it. After a moment, the entire shield pulsed once and was sucked into the metal, which burst into yellow sparks and faded.
"Sol Djinn," Orian said again, looking annoyed. The simple fact that Djinn of his own element were siding against him was bothering the boy more than he liked. At the very least, some of them should have found him, joined him… surely. "No. You can't stop me. And I won't wait any longer. Omega Void." Orian raised a hand like he was holding an invisible sphere, and with a rush of weakness, the Adept's Psynergy was drawn up into the space. It shot into the beacon, which was only a metre or so across now, joining the rest of the infinite reservoir.
"We do have a few other weapons," said Jenna. "Unleash Justice!" Her blade shone momentarily, then sputtered. Jenna looked at Justice inquisitively.
"Actually… you don't. My attack sort of rides the Psynergy you have. Fully rested-"
"Which we haven't been in days," Ivan groaned.
"-I'm quite powerful," Justice went on, ignoring him. "But now… now is not so good."
At last the glowing sphere of the beacon was gone, and only the bright Sol Star remained, hovering above the Well. Orian turned and smiled, glad to see that after all this time, and these battles with Adepts who would not be defeated, he had won.
The Star dropped into the dark Well without ceremony. Down at the cylinder's tapered end, in the room where the Adepts had first encountered Lycoris and Orian, the Well glowed, flashed, and transformed. The Star landed in an ornate lantern, still glowing brightly and casting strange shadows on the walls. It swung gently, as though in a light breeze.
Orian watched it drop out of sight, then turned back to the ready, immovable Adepts, and cursed the thoughtfulness of the Lighthouse's builders again. "It seems we may have to fight this out after all," he said, wearily. Orian still had power, of course, far more than any of them, but after all this time, he was weary of combat, and wished mostly for it all to be over.
Mia and Lycoris fought on. Mia was exhausted, driven only by determination and a dose of fury, but watching her opponent, she noticed that the light of the beacon had slowly been wearing down Lycoris as well. Then it went out, to the surprise of them both.
Lycoris moved almost too fast to be seen, immediately gaining power as the shadows deepened and the night sky became clearer. Her blade stretched again into a whip, wrapping around Clotho's Distaff and wrenching it from her grip. It reverted and Lycoris slashed viciously, cutting freely at the unprotected Mercury Adept. Backing off under the assault, Mia tripped and fell onto her back. Lycoris drew back, grinned with dark satisfaction, and the blade fell like a guillotine.
A second into the strike, another blade intercepted it. One glowing with golden light. Lycoris looked to her side, staring with disbelief at Isaac. Mia took up her staff again and smashed the Luna Adept with a jab, sending her rolling onto her back.
"People talk a lot about being in a state of denial, but they never mention the wonderful benefits it can have for your health," Isaac commented, meeting Lycoris' stare. He turned to Mia and offered a hand. "I was supposed to rescue you there, by the way."
"I don't do the helpless thing," Mia replied, pulling herself to her feet. She met his gaze, not understanding the cool, blue and above all living eyes that looked back. "So. Just when I'm over you, you come waltzing back into my life." Mia looked nonplussed by Isaac's reappearance, and he met it with an amused, jokingly disapproving expression.
They fell into each other's arms, kissing more joyously than Isaac could ever remember.
"Impossible," breathed Felix.
"Not impossible," Garet whispered with a grin. "Just very, very unlikely."
Lycoris pushed herself to her feet, eyes blazing with rage, which became something more like utter disbelief when Isaac and Mia's embrace did not end, even at the crack of her dark whip. In fact, without acknowledging her in any other way, Isaac raised one hand and gestured at the Luna Adept.
"I'm not sure what that means, but it cannot be good," Picard commented.
"I'm surprised Isaac knows what it means," said Jenna, slightly embarrassed. Isaac and Mia were the centre of attention, a fact neither of them would have much liked if they had been aware of it, but at that moment everyone else's attention was drawn to the source of a strange sound. Orian had thrown his head back and was laughing, not like an evil villain or a madman, but like someone who had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Lycoris was not amused.
"What are you laughing at?" she demanded of her brother. Eventually, Orian's fit of mirth subsided, and he looked at his sister, wiping tears from his eyes.
"You don't get it, do you? We can't win anymore! Not you, not me! He's got us!" To the Sol Adept, it was as though a great weight had been lifted. He had failed, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. No more struggles or fighting. It was over, and he knew it.
"You're giving up?" asked Lycoris, certain that such a suggestion would get a strong reaction.
"Don't give me that, dear sister," Orian replied sarcastically. "You wouldn't have left him alone if you thought there was any chance he wasn't dead. There's something at work here that neither of us understands."
"We're called Djinn," said Halo, sounding annoyed. He appeared on the left shoulder of Isaac, who was now standing confidently, one arm still around Mia, the other on the handle of the Sol Blade. "I mean, come on, do we really get that little credit?"
"Only the Sol Djinn, Halo," Infinity reported.
"Just about unanimously, I might add," Oracle pointed out.
"Figures. No one likes the really powerful heroes," Halo muttered.
"Are you going to talk or are you going to die?" screeched Lycoris.
"Well, if I believed those were my choices… ah, I think I'll choose talk anyway," Halo decided.
"If you don't mind, I'd like this one." The voice from nowhere was quickly explained when Harmony phased into existence nearby. Halo saluted with a wing and a silly expression, and Harmony went on with a smile. "Halo has a unique power. He doesn't unleash quite like the rest. Instead, as long as he remains set to an Adept… no injury, however grave, can kill that Adept. It would still be possible to, say, decapitate the individual, or incinerate them-"
"I'll keep that in mind," Lycoris growled.
"But healing Psynergy still takes effect. And so, you poor corrupted girl, your opponent stands risen from the dead. Or rather, the not-quite-dead. And now I think you and the Holy Knight should finish that duel," Harmony suggested. Lycoris cracked the Luna Psynergy whip in anticipation.
"Sounds all right to me. Nothing can stop my power," she stated. "Nothing can fill an endless void." She lashed out at Isaac, who snapped the Sol Blade into line. The dark cord wrapped around it, and Isaac held his sword high. Its blade, once more shining like the golden sun, brightened and burned the cruel binding away. Light flashed down its length, stinging Lycoris as her weapon disintegrated.
"Light fills the void, Lycoris," Isaac replied. "And a void is just somewhere for light to be."
Felix was only half-watching these events. Something had just reverberated in his mind, an intense feeling that something was going very wrong, and it was happening faster with every moment. He focused, and the cry reached up from the ground far below, having already travelled across hundreds of miles. At the edge of the world, all around them, the earth was crumbling. Sol Lighthouse had to be fired, and quickly.
"Isaac, whatever you're going to do, do it fast!" called Felix.
He turned to the ninth Sol Djinni. "Are we going to go through with this, then?"
"My plans haven't failed so far. I don't see why we should stop now," Harmony answered. Then she flashed into nothing again, and an extra power charged the eight Defenders. The Adepts looked at each other, uncertain, but hoping that what was about to happen was something like what they thought was about to happen.
They spoke as one. "Unleash Harmony!"
The Adept's weapons flared with power. In Ivan, Sheba, and Mia's hands the Staves of the Fates pulsed with energy and fired rays of light that centred on the Sol Blade's hilt. Isaac let go of its handle and the sword hovered in the air. This was apparently a good plan, because at that moment Garet's Stellar Axe released a massive gout of white-hot fire that engulfed the blade, and it didn't go out until water erupted from Picard's Mythril Blade, tempering the newly forged metal.
At last the Tisiphone Edge shook in Jenna's grasp and a strange light issued from it, like a golden comet trailing ethereal ribbons. It dove into the hilt and flashed along the blade's edge. The sword was encased in a thin column of blinding light, but Isaac stepped forward and reached into it anyway.
The ray broke off, but did not stop shining in Isaac's grip. It was simply a narrow shaft of light, perhaps six feet long and completely weightless, glowing in his hands. "A bit long," the Venus Adept commented. It seemed perfectly natural to him to reach up and break the ray in half, twin swords of alchemical power.
"Orian!" snapped Lycoris, glaring at her brother, who had done nothing so far except grin when Isaac broke the transformed Sol Blade into a pair of weapons. Orian jolted as though shaken from a light sleep but he sighed in a resigned manner.
"If you insist. But I don't think we're likely to get anywhere," Orian commented. Lycoris ignored her brother's attitude and drew her strange and wickedly curved blade, glowed slightly as her preferred pstrengthening powers took effect. The other Adepts moved a little away from the battle, intending at the very least to deal with some of the more severe injuries, such as Garet's hands, which were probably broken in a few places. Isaac stood facing Orian and Lycoris, not one of the three moving.
They had no idea what they were facing.
Lycoris moved first, though Orian followed quickly. Isaac simply stood ready, not even moving until they were a step from striking range. Lycoris knew he was waiting, no doubt intending to pull the same interrupting strike she had made when this fight began, down below-
Isaac moved as fast as any of them had ever seen, halting Lycoris' slash without moving an inch. Orian, who carried a short staff simply because his sister insisted they should be prepared, struck simultaneously from the other direction, and wasn't surprised to see the perfect block performed. Then Isaac, immovable a mountain a moment ago, lifted his feet and began the real battle.
The Venus Adept stepped past the twins and turned, swinging at them both. Orian was far more prepared to block offensive moves than to make any of his own, and Lycoris managed to deflect the first strike, but Isaac didn't care, he was already moving on to the next part. To Orian's amusement and Lycoris' further rage, Isaac moved with perfect rhythm, not bothering to spend more than a second or two on each exchange of blows. They didn't really understand, he reflected, but perhaps they would before it was over.
It was like music in his blood, the Holy Knight decided. The way he spun and twisted, facing both opponents alternately and guarding even against those attacks he couldn't have really seen coming, it was all a dance. Lycoris and Orian were just following the steps, and they didn't even see it. Isaac laughed out loud in the middle of a flying spin, catching a low strike from Orian's staff and slashing the sunlit edge across Lycoris' side. These blades didn't cut, but at each burst of sparks as the intense light scorched his opponents, he felt that metal would likely have been the soft option.
As enjoyable as this was, Isaac could feel the crumbling of the edges of Weyard, and even the cooling of the fires, the stilling of the winds, the dying waters came through Halo to him. Isaac turned and faced only Lycoris, striking at her from nearly random angles, every side, battering at her defences. He at last planted a single kick in her stomach, knocking the Luna Adept to the Aerie's perfect surface. Orian had no interest in this battle, and Isaac's second blow stopping just an inch from his throat. The tip of the light blade hovered meaningfully.
"Sit down and consider yourself defeated," Isaac ordered. Orian hesitated still, loyalty to his sister, however warped, keeping him from agreeing outright. The end of the ray flared like a prominence on the sun, releasing a small bolt that rolled across Orian and sapped his remaining energy. The Sol Adept collapsed to the floor with a groan of 'Not again'.
Lycoris was standing already and struck again at Isaac while he wasn't looking, but electricity arced from Sheba's fingertips and her muscles twitched involuntarily, pulling the blade back.
"Well, get on with it," said Mia, looking up from mending Garet's wrists. She grinned, as did Isaac, and he returned to combat with a nod of thanks to Sheba. Orian was staying down, and so Isaac brought the twin blades together, merging into a single sword, as real and yet insubstantial as morning sun.
"I suppose it's too much to ask that you use actual weaponry?" growled Lycoris.
"This is actual weaponry, shadow wench," Isaac replied, and twirled in a glowing circle that knocked Lycoris off balance by sheer force, despite her ready guard. The glow of her pstrengthening increased, but Orian knew the smile that appeared on his sister's face next, and knew that this battle might not be as clearly defined as he had said.
They traded a few more strikes, Isaac never failing to block and often beating Lycoris' own defences, but then she raised a hand to him and spoke darkly. "Thunderous Agony!" The air warped and blasted into Isaac, tensing every muscle in his body until he felt like a concentrated knot of furious pain, but the power of the Holy Knight resisted it, and he battled on. The slowing that came of it was enough to make Lycoris at least even with Isaac, but she wasn't satisfied with that. This was the last battle, they all knew, and she saw no reason not to throw all her power at him.
"Ravager Tide!" Lycoris was angered to see that in the proper style of such a powerful weapon, the sunlight sword split the incoming rush of water, diverting it around Isaac perfectly. "Chaos Shatter!" The tiles beneath Isaac exploded, blasting him off his feet. Shrapnel cut everywhere, especially at his legs, too numerous and small to deflect.
Isaac landed on his back, bent back further, and leapt to his feet easily, charging straight back into battle. The flurry of attacks he unleashed were as many as the shards that cut him, showering the Aerie with sparks, and the last strike cleaved Lycoris' kris into halves with a flash. Lycoris' eyes glowed, another outlet for the power she channelled, and Orian knew what would happen next. Already they had seen Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus attacks. Only one of the elements was left. Lycoris's favourite was one particular Mars Psynergy…
"Blackest Hellfire!" she screamed, and even Isaac might not have survived the blast, but the supremely dark flames that exploded from her hand were cut off when Orian crashed into his sister, breaking the bound energy. "What are you doing?!" she raged, but the Sol Adept ignored his sister.
Isaac watched, frozen in surprise for a moment, and then saw it. Everything was spread in front of him, with just one little jump to make, one thing that he had to hope could work. "I'm sorry, Orian," Isaac whispered, and threw the sword of light.
It turned over in the air twice before reaching them, biting effortlessly into Orian's back. The sword was obviously guided by Psynergy, nothing else could have driven it so perfectly through his heart, out his chest, and into his sister's. A column of light erupted below them, twisted and slowly fading, so that while the very air felt unreal, there was a shadow inside the prominence. Its shape was uncertain, but slowly it became recognizable as a silhouette.
The golden aura exploded into a thousand black and white points. The Sol Blade, once again in its old shape, clattered to the floor, glowing softly. And one figure was left standing where Orian and Lycoris had been stricken. The robed Adept kneeled, though perhaps through weariness rather than choice.
"Good," said Harmony, who sounded just as satisfied as the rest of the Adepts were mystified. She flapped over to the unknown individual and settled to the tiles. "As weak as a child," the Sol Djinni went on. "But as strong as one, too. It's only fair. Hello."
The robed one looked up, though long, ragged hair rather obstructed the view of Harmony, who was smiling gently. The other Adepts were silent, preferring to leave whatever was happening to someone who had any earthly idea of what was happening.
"I believe we were in the middle of something," Isaac commented to Mia, who was currently enlisting Fizz's help in sealing the many minor injuries Picard had suffered during his duel with Lycoris.
"Heal first, rejoice later," Mia replied, all business, but obviously meaning it as a joke.
"Oh, very well," Isaac relented, and put his own healing abilities to use, but they turned back when the strange figure spoke, quietly and more than a little scared.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Harmony. I'm a Sol Djinni, and this is the Aerie of Sol Lighthouse."
The girl looked around, and after a moment she looked scared. "I thought… I don't know why, but… shouldn't there be a beacon?"
"Yes," Harmony replied. "But the Star was removed from its place, and so Psynergy is failing."
"No," said the girl. "That's not right at all." She held out a hand in the direction of the dark Well and raised it, as though lifting something intangible. Light flared in its depths and a bright orb rose back to the top, growing into the Sol beacon again. "Yes. There should be light here."
"Who are you?" asked Garet, who was probably the least concerned among them.
"I…" began the girl, and she seemed lost.
"Unless I'm gravely mistaken, which I never am, you are Kieran," Harmony said, encouragingly.
"Yes," said Kieran after a moment, staring her reflection in the Aerie's surface. "Kieran the Dour. That was what they called me." She looked up at the cluster of Adepts. "I am Kieran the ." There was silence for a moment.
"So, what, should that mean something to us?" asked Felix.
"What is she? Orian and Lycoris get wasted and this girl comes out of the… explosion…" said Garet, trailing off as a thought occurred to him. "You're… you're both of them, aren't you?"
"Close… Garet… very close," Kieran said, pausing to catch his name in a thought. "Most accurately, those two were parts of me." She closed her eyes, apparently reconciling some inner conflict as memories collided and fused. "…Felix… should recall that Orian spoke of a Psy Crystal that he and his sister found one night." Kieran stopped there again and winced, not enjoying the reunion that was still taking place in her mind.
"Kieran wasn't an Adept before that night, but she should have been. There was a fundamental breakdown inside her, having been born to perfectly ordinary parents. She was an Adept equally powered in all the elements, and so they cancelled out, until contact with a massive Psynergy Stone fragment blasted from Mount Aleph created a sudden influx of power."
"She talking about me?"
"Get back in my head, Reflux."
"But there was another effect. The Psynergy gave her quite a lot of power, but the elements still resisted the union. Only the considerable energy Kieran had already gained kept her from being split into four. As it was, the halves took on opposite aspects, Sol and Luna," Harmony went on.
"No," said Kieran. "Not opposite." Harmony looked startled at the interjection, and more so by the disagreement.
"What?" she asked, after a moment.
"Sol and Luna are the same, but coming from different directions. They are both the one element of Alchemy. Sol is everything, and Luna is nothing, but neither of those are particularly useful. When you have everything and nothing, it can be quite difficult to get anything," said Kieran, and she was smiling now. "There is Alchemy in all things, a hundred thousand alchemies across the world. The only difference is in seeing what sort of union something is."
"That's certainly worrying. I should have known that already," said Harmony.
"Why?" asked Mia.
"She knows everything," Saviour explained. "Harmony can see every point in time in every place, all in perfect detail. Which, I understand, can cause quite a headache if you forget where the present is."
"And now I'm told that Sol and Luna are the same element. I'm going to have to redo half the murals in the Depths now…" Harmony muttered.
"I'll help," said Kieran.
"For that matter, I'm not even certain that we're technically Sol Djinn. How did I miss this?"
"Wait, wait wait wait wait wait," said Gare, cutting off the worried Djinni. "So Isaac's pulled off some sort of fusion and Kieran's back together. But she's still the combination of two peoples, one of whom just tried to kill us –not to mention thought she did kill Isaac- and the other wanted to take over the world for its own good, and we're just going to let her go?"
"What's your suggestion?" asked Jenna.
"Thanks for not leaving this one up to me," Seraph added.
"If you, Garet of Vale, my brave, idiotic boyfriend, who have destroyed so many evil monsters, were split in two, and we ended up with one half that hated evil and another half that loved to destroy, would you want to answer for the things the second half did?" continued Jenna, and Garet shut up under the onslaught, preferring to run the phrase 'brave, idiotic boyfriend' over in his head a few times.
"She's good at that," Justice commented no one in particular. "I'm going to be sad to see you go."
"And indeed you should be going," said Kieran. "No doubt there are a great many Adepts wondering what has happened here, and for now you have little reason to remain. The land is still quite inhospitable."
Indeed, as the Adepts spoke the sun was rising on the underside of Weyard, setting on their own homelands, and its glow illuminated the vast expanses of grey, dead earth and stone. Kieran moved as though she was throwing something toward the dawn, and the Sol beacon resonated with her command, projecting a flickering orb of light into the distance.
"That was pretty cool," Ivan commented.
"Small enough help for you, to whom I owe so much. You should be able to use Teleport Psynergy to get to the edge of the world and find your ship again," Kieran explained.
"Does anyone else find that worldly sage thing grates on you after a while?" asked Felix.
"Oh, quiet," said Picard, grinning.
In a series of flashes the Sol Djinn separated from the other Adepts, gathering around Kieran. They did not ally with her, though. These ten were equals, and together they would protect the Sol Lighthouse. It was what they were for. It wasn't a bad purpose in life, Kieran decided.
"Thanks a lot for your help, Halo," said Isaac, knowing he owed his life to the little elemental. "And for the record, it wasn't 'from'. It was 'to'." Halo grinned, but wouldn't explain it to the others.
"Thanks for knocking Picard out before he got too far, Guardian," added Jenna.
"And thanks for taking some of the strain off the rest of us for a while," said Gust. "Back to work now, I suppose."
"Too bad. It was a nice rest," Balm agreed, perched in Mia's hair in the preferred Djinni style.
"Good bye, Bane," said Harmony.
The ancient Venus Djinni didn't seem to know what to say for a moment. "Farewell, m'lady," he said at last. Harmony grinned.
"We'll see each other again, old man," Harmony assured him. She glanced at the Adepts, who all immediately found the sunrise exceptionally beautiful and worthy of their full attention, including Kieran. "And remember," she whispered, sidling a little closer, "you may feel it a little more, but you are not really so much older than I." Bane turned slightly darker brown and vanished, and Harmony laughed. Lyrics wafted about on the breeze, and after a moment the Adepts realised that Kieran was singing.
"Speed the rising sun, make the breeze to blow, bid the robins sing, bid the roses grow," she called, raising her arms, and the beacon of Sol Lighthouse blazed brighter again, this time shining a ray on the ground below. The Adepts watched, and after a moment it started to turn brown, then became flecked with green. The ray kept shining, and then started to move, leaving a trail of new plants and fertile soil in its wake. "There should be forests," she stated to no one.
Isaac looked at the others, all of whom were silent, not wanting to disturb the suddenly fascinated Alchemy Adept. "I think we should go," he said, putting and arm around Mia and starting to turn away.
The others followed, but the whirled back at the cry of a Sorro'wing, swooping past the Lighthouse with a predator's scream. Kieran noticed it, and waved a hand. The bird's metal feathers started to glow.
"What are you doing?" asked Picard, concerned. The Sorro'wing felt the sudden heat, and screamed now in anger. The feathers turned red, began to melt, and it screamed in pain. Light engulfed the creature, and only giant flames that reached past the blinding centre could been seen. From inside the whiteness there was an explosion, and molten iron drop rained down on the earth far below.
"Kieran!" shouted Felix. "What the hell-"
The flames had not stopped, but with another cry, this one like the beginning of a song, a blazing shape flew forth, a red and yellow bird encased in fire. It flapped away, seemingly unaware of the transformation. "I like phoenixes," Kieran whispered.
"By the Spirits," said Picard. The Adepts said nothing, simply watched the phoenix for a moment. Then they left, silently, wondering precisely what they had just seen.
Kieran knew they were gone, but it didn't much worry her. They might be friends, she decided. Perhaps the next time they met, she could find out. But for now, there was much to be done. She thought of the wide expanses of the barren earth, and the few unusual things that could be found there. She remembered the Drenmar.
"There should be wolves," she said to the Djinn.
Picard's ship ploughed through the waves quickly, on a course straight for Angara, as straight for Vale as the Adepts were ever likely to get on the ocean. After so long on the dry underside, Picard didn't mind using even more Psynergy to steer the ship; he was rejuvenated simply by the spray of mist off the rippling waters. Most of the others were behind him, enjoying the wind or the warmth of the sunlight.
"You two didn't seem all that surprised to see Isaac alive," Felix commented, and Sheba and Ivan blushed slightly.
"Well, we would have told you sooner-" began Sheba.
"But the middle of a life-or-death battle didn't seem like the time-" Ivan explained.
"And I wouldn't have wanted to tell Lycoris or Orian that he had just called back all the Venus Djinn," Sheba finished. "There was really only one explanation for nine Djinn simply leaving."
"And the kid who goes around messing with everyone else's thoughts would also have picked up on that, wouldn't he?" asked Jenna, ruffling Ivan's hair, though in the high wind it hardly seemed worth it.
"Yeah, and how about- Spirits, can't one of you do something about that noise?" asked Garet, who was beginning to get flustered within hearing of the back of the ship. Ivan laughed and compressed a wall of air around the middle of the deck, halting any sound that might have come through.
"Music hater," Jenna joked, and Garet twitched away from her tickling hand.
"Where are Isaac and Mia, anyway?" asked Felix.
"Well," said Ivan, "you remember when the dwarves at Loho noticed that we had 'lost our sail in a storm', so they gave us a new one along with the cannon?"
"Yes…" said Felix slowly.
"They decided not to waste such a kind gift," Sheba finished.
"Oh."
The sound that had been bothering Garet originated near the back of the ship, between the wall of the upper cabin and the rail at the hull's edge. A little bit of creative tying had turned the unnecessary sail into an excellent hammock that could probably have held half a dozen people.
"Say you love, love me forever, never stop, never whatever, near and far and always and everywhere and everything," sang Isaac, feeling better than he had in many weeks. The sail really was quite comfortable, and the sunlight was warm and bright, but the feeling was based most of all, he expected, on the fact that Mia was nestled beside him, eyes closed as though almost asleep, but smiling as she listened to Isaac's words.
"It's also pretty good not be wearing bloodstained armor, too. I'd never have expected an Imilian cloak to feel so light," Mia stated.
"You're not a Jupiter Adept. How did you know I was thinking that?"
"I was thinking the same thing. It was a safe guess. Tell me more about this 'everywhere and everything' idea of yours."
"It's not mine."
"A minor detail. Continue, I insist."
"You already know I love you."
"And I quite enjoy hearing it spoken over and over again. Are you going to keep singing or not?"
"You're not at all worried about what the others might think we're doing?"
"I could care less what anyone else thinks."
"…I guess you're right," Isaac admitted.
"Then say, say it again," Mia repeated with a smile.
The ship sailed on, back towards home.
[Author's Notes] And so Shining in the Darkness ends. My apologies for the crazy length of this chapter, not to mention thanks and congratulations to anyone who's read this far. If, as I hope, you're wishing for more of Kieran and the Sol Djinn, just keep in mind that, most of the time, Harmony does know everything. Credit goes to the muse, without whom I doubt this would have been nearly as good as I hope you've found it, so if you liked it or hated it or want more of the Sol Djinn or want to know why I didn't kill of Lycoris most violently, then REVIEW! It's the surest way to get what you want. (It's right down there at the bottom of the page. Go ahead, I won't tell anyone.) Ja mata ne!