Chapter 1
"Hey Felix, would you mind giving me a hand with this tree?" Isaac yelled from the top of an infinitesimal incline, unable to lodge the large obstacle himself. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, and watched it fall to the grass that cushioned his feet. He looked to his right, and studied Felix as he came running up the slope.
Felix smirked at Isaac as he approached his childhood friend, poking some fun at him. "It all comes back to Felix, doesn't it? Admit it Isaac, you'd be nothing with out me." He grabbed the side of the tree opposite to Isaac, and together then carried it to its determined destination. "Hey, I think the others went in for lunch. We're pretty safe if we-" Felix was cut off by a sudden motion of Isaac's Excalibur.
Isaac smiled. "Way ahead of you buddy." The two jested back and forth, each switching between gaining ground and defending it. Their duel came to a premature end though, as the girls came out of the house.
Isaac and Felix stopped in their tracks, their swords hanging limp at their sides like an unraveled yo-yo. Isaac and Felix both nodded, greeting all the girls, but in different orders. Isaac, of course, had said Mia's name first, which provoked a nudge from Felix.
"So, what brings you three out here?" Isaac questioned, staring at Felix from his questionable nudge.
"The villagers wanted to talk alone" Mia replied, her eyes not meeting Isaac's. "We thought it was best that we find out what you two were up to. We were right; it wasn't working."
Isaac felt a slight blush in his cheeks, as Felix struggled to keep himself from laughing. Jenna, who saw Isaac's predicament, grasped for a way to change the subject. "So, where's Garet, Ivan, and Piers?"
Felix took the stage this time, his laugh lost. "Garet and Piers got into another fight, so Ivan's helping them settle it in duel." He immediately saw Jenna smile; she had confided in him her largest secret during their captivity in the holds of Saturos and Menardi; Jenna had admired Garet for a long time, and, according to Isaac, Garet had a secret crush on Jenna, too.
Mia nodded. "Fine, that's good enough. If you two can find the time, I think the Mayor was looking for you in the Plaza section." She pointed over another hill, the opposite direction from which the girls had come. Felix and Isaac nodded, and set off in that direction. As they left, Isaac turned back and gave the slightest wink, a signal that only he and Mia could pick up, established during their travels. Mia had to restrain herself from giggling in front of her friends, and as she turned to locate Garet and Piers, her thoughts were only of Isaac.
"Alright you two" Ivan said, shifting his eyes between the two of them. "I want a good clean fight. No jabs, punches, or kicks below the belt. Whoever scores the first blood wound is the winner. No aiming to kill or injure; a mere cut will do. Do you boys understand?" Garet, brandishing his Levatine and Piers his Excalibur, both nodded, but kept their eyes locked at each other. Ivan noticed both of their nods, then replied, "Let's get it started! Go!"
Piers lifted his blade for the first blow, and Garet responded in order to block; however, a physical attack was not the Mercury Adept's intention. With his blade still in the air, his eyes closed as the air became suddenly cold, as chunks of ice rained on Garet's location. Garet, caught off-guard, activated his Mars Djinni, Flash, which put up a temporary shield to keep him shielded.
Now it was Garet's turn. Piers, now recovering from his Glacier attack, had no defense for Garet's now impending attack. Garet lunged forward, and as Piers seemingly established an effective block, Garet combined the might of his original blade with its unleash, as well as two more Mars Djinni. The blow was so menancingly that it shook Piers' blade and knocked the young Lemurian backwards, sprawling him out on the grass. Garet performed two back flips to turn back to his starting position, and twirled his sword. Garet was much more experienced than Piers, and it showed. Garet had traveled across five continents in the course of a few months; Piers had been restricted to Lemuria, a utopia of sorts, for most of his life.
Piers, now back on his feet, lifted his blade and charged at Garet, preparing to activate a few Mercury Djinni of his own. Garet, fully prepared for a Djinn attack, was waiting to trap Piers with Psynergy. As both strategies were seconds away from meeting, a pair of voices echoed into the forest.
"Garet!" "Piers!"
The two males, stopping dead in their tracks, turned towards the direction from which the voices came. Jenna and Sheba emerged over the horizon, with Mia behind. "C'mon Mia, you haven't been this reluctant since we left Prox" Jenna joked, her eyes meeting Garet's. Garet had not even acknowledged the arrival of the two other girls, but was only focused on the young Mars Adept. In Piers case, Sheba and him had been together since they had returned to Vale, finding unison together where Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Felix found unison in their families.
Sheba found shelter at Piers' side, with his arm cradled around her. Garet shuffled his boots in place, sheathing his sword. Jenna, with a nudge from Mia, walked up to Garet and grabbed the materials he had been lugging back to the construction site. She smiled and said to Garet, "Don't worry. Let a big strong person like me get those for you." Garet could only feel a bit embarassed as they made the trek back to camp, with a girl carrying his stuff. Suddenly, he remembered.
"Um guys, where's Ivan?"
Mia looked behind her, then upwards. Finally, shaking her head, she said, "You know him. That Jupiter adept can't keep still for a minute. I'll bet my Lachesius Rule he's rode a Jupiter Djinni back to camp."
The group of five laughed as they continued down the road, hoping to find relaxation back at the construction/camp site.
Garet's grandfather, the mayor, nodded. "Yes, it's good that they sent you here. We're in a bit of a crisis."
Isaac, puzzled, glanced at Felix, who was as confused as he was. "A crisis?" they said in unison, hints of speculation in their voices.
The mayor nodded. "The Wise One has been giving us predictions since the Golden Sun rose. Also, scouting parties from Kalay and Vault have confirmed these.things.that have been the focus of the predictions."
Now Isaac and Felix were even more confused than before. The Mayor, noticing this, decided to continue. "There is be a raid on the Vale, even as we now reconstruct it, and, more importantly, Mt. Aleph and Sol Sanctum.
The guesses and speculation in the boys' eyes disappeared and were replaced by thoughts and imaginations. The last time such an attack on Sol Sanctum had happened, the lives of villagers were nearly lost and it started an incredible journey, spanning the entire world.
"Now, as you two may already have guessed," the mayor said, "This cannot be allowed to happen. Since the elemental stars are now gone, the root of the power of each lighthouse rests in Sol Sanctum. If even one of these powers is interrupted, it could cause unbalance in Weyard and once again set Gaia Falls on its destruction course. Now, we have sufficient time to plan for this. Isaac, you are to take two friends of your choice, other than Felix, and take up post in Vault. Felix, you will handle the remaining three of your group and be in charge of Sol Sanctum's defense. I cannot tell you how important each of your roles. Now, hurry and set up your groups. You each will depart tomorrow morning."
As Felix and Isaac left the mayor's tent, neither said a word to the other. Instead, they kept their eyes upwards, looking for a sign - any sign - of the impending but mysterious foe that awaited them.
"Hey Felix, would you mind giving me a hand with this tree?" Isaac yelled from the top of an infinitesimal incline, unable to lodge the large obstacle himself. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, and watched it fall to the grass that cushioned his feet. He looked to his right, and studied Felix as he came running up the slope.
Felix smirked at Isaac as he approached his childhood friend, poking some fun at him. "It all comes back to Felix, doesn't it? Admit it Isaac, you'd be nothing with out me." He grabbed the side of the tree opposite to Isaac, and together then carried it to its determined destination. "Hey, I think the others went in for lunch. We're pretty safe if we-" Felix was cut off by a sudden motion of Isaac's Excalibur.
Isaac smiled. "Way ahead of you buddy." The two jested back and forth, each switching between gaining ground and defending it. Their duel came to a premature end though, as the girls came out of the house.
Isaac and Felix stopped in their tracks, their swords hanging limp at their sides like an unraveled yo-yo. Isaac and Felix both nodded, greeting all the girls, but in different orders. Isaac, of course, had said Mia's name first, which provoked a nudge from Felix.
"So, what brings you three out here?" Isaac questioned, staring at Felix from his questionable nudge.
"The villagers wanted to talk alone" Mia replied, her eyes not meeting Isaac's. "We thought it was best that we find out what you two were up to. We were right; it wasn't working."
Isaac felt a slight blush in his cheeks, as Felix struggled to keep himself from laughing. Jenna, who saw Isaac's predicament, grasped for a way to change the subject. "So, where's Garet, Ivan, and Piers?"
Felix took the stage this time, his laugh lost. "Garet and Piers got into another fight, so Ivan's helping them settle it in duel." He immediately saw Jenna smile; she had confided in him her largest secret during their captivity in the holds of Saturos and Menardi; Jenna had admired Garet for a long time, and, according to Isaac, Garet had a secret crush on Jenna, too.
Mia nodded. "Fine, that's good enough. If you two can find the time, I think the Mayor was looking for you in the Plaza section." She pointed over another hill, the opposite direction from which the girls had come. Felix and Isaac nodded, and set off in that direction. As they left, Isaac turned back and gave the slightest wink, a signal that only he and Mia could pick up, established during their travels. Mia had to restrain herself from giggling in front of her friends, and as she turned to locate Garet and Piers, her thoughts were only of Isaac.
"Alright you two" Ivan said, shifting his eyes between the two of them. "I want a good clean fight. No jabs, punches, or kicks below the belt. Whoever scores the first blood wound is the winner. No aiming to kill or injure; a mere cut will do. Do you boys understand?" Garet, brandishing his Levatine and Piers his Excalibur, both nodded, but kept their eyes locked at each other. Ivan noticed both of their nods, then replied, "Let's get it started! Go!"
Piers lifted his blade for the first blow, and Garet responded in order to block; however, a physical attack was not the Mercury Adept's intention. With his blade still in the air, his eyes closed as the air became suddenly cold, as chunks of ice rained on Garet's location. Garet, caught off-guard, activated his Mars Djinni, Flash, which put up a temporary shield to keep him shielded.
Now it was Garet's turn. Piers, now recovering from his Glacier attack, had no defense for Garet's now impending attack. Garet lunged forward, and as Piers seemingly established an effective block, Garet combined the might of his original blade with its unleash, as well as two more Mars Djinni. The blow was so menancingly that it shook Piers' blade and knocked the young Lemurian backwards, sprawling him out on the grass. Garet performed two back flips to turn back to his starting position, and twirled his sword. Garet was much more experienced than Piers, and it showed. Garet had traveled across five continents in the course of a few months; Piers had been restricted to Lemuria, a utopia of sorts, for most of his life.
Piers, now back on his feet, lifted his blade and charged at Garet, preparing to activate a few Mercury Djinni of his own. Garet, fully prepared for a Djinn attack, was waiting to trap Piers with Psynergy. As both strategies were seconds away from meeting, a pair of voices echoed into the forest.
"Garet!" "Piers!"
The two males, stopping dead in their tracks, turned towards the direction from which the voices came. Jenna and Sheba emerged over the horizon, with Mia behind. "C'mon Mia, you haven't been this reluctant since we left Prox" Jenna joked, her eyes meeting Garet's. Garet had not even acknowledged the arrival of the two other girls, but was only focused on the young Mars Adept. In Piers case, Sheba and him had been together since they had returned to Vale, finding unison together where Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Felix found unison in their families.
Sheba found shelter at Piers' side, with his arm cradled around her. Garet shuffled his boots in place, sheathing his sword. Jenna, with a nudge from Mia, walked up to Garet and grabbed the materials he had been lugging back to the construction site. She smiled and said to Garet, "Don't worry. Let a big strong person like me get those for you." Garet could only feel a bit embarassed as they made the trek back to camp, with a girl carrying his stuff. Suddenly, he remembered.
"Um guys, where's Ivan?"
Mia looked behind her, then upwards. Finally, shaking her head, she said, "You know him. That Jupiter adept can't keep still for a minute. I'll bet my Lachesius Rule he's rode a Jupiter Djinni back to camp."
The group of five laughed as they continued down the road, hoping to find relaxation back at the construction/camp site.
Garet's grandfather, the mayor, nodded. "Yes, it's good that they sent you here. We're in a bit of a crisis."
Isaac, puzzled, glanced at Felix, who was as confused as he was. "A crisis?" they said in unison, hints of speculation in their voices.
The mayor nodded. "The Wise One has been giving us predictions since the Golden Sun rose. Also, scouting parties from Kalay and Vault have confirmed these.things.that have been the focus of the predictions."
Now Isaac and Felix were even more confused than before. The Mayor, noticing this, decided to continue. "There is be a raid on the Vale, even as we now reconstruct it, and, more importantly, Mt. Aleph and Sol Sanctum.
The guesses and speculation in the boys' eyes disappeared and were replaced by thoughts and imaginations. The last time such an attack on Sol Sanctum had happened, the lives of villagers were nearly lost and it started an incredible journey, spanning the entire world.
"Now, as you two may already have guessed," the mayor said, "This cannot be allowed to happen. Since the elemental stars are now gone, the root of the power of each lighthouse rests in Sol Sanctum. If even one of these powers is interrupted, it could cause unbalance in Weyard and once again set Gaia Falls on its destruction course. Now, we have sufficient time to plan for this. Isaac, you are to take two friends of your choice, other than Felix, and take up post in Vault. Felix, you will handle the remaining three of your group and be in charge of Sol Sanctum's defense. I cannot tell you how important each of your roles. Now, hurry and set up your groups. You each will depart tomorrow morning."
As Felix and Isaac left the mayor's tent, neither said a word to the other. Instead, they kept their eyes upwards, looking for a sign - any sign - of the impending but mysterious foe that awaited them.
