Mana's Mind
by Duran the Gladiator

Chapter 2: Claws and leaves

It felt good for the group of friends to prepare for an adventure again. It made them feel how much they'd missed the rush of it, and made their senses a bit sharper as well. Kevin faintly heard giggles from the rooms at the end of the corridor - Angela's room - and sighed.
"Those two are worse now than they were before... all love, no fight." He growled in frustration. The giggles had stopped, and Kevin headed out of his room. In the corridor, he met a slightly flustered Duran, trying to get his helmet back on.
"You should know better, Duran. You two are all love, no fight! Focus before fighting!"
"Eh... well, uh, I... Sorry," he said, bowing his head in shame as he knew his friend was right, "but hey, have you ever tried to resist a girl like Angela?!"
"Yeah, all the time. Beast girls all crazy about me ever since I came back here. Beast King said I should try and find a proper... mate..." Kevin blushed. He and the Beast King had a different opinion on that matter. He didn't want a girl - not yet, anyway. He wanted to love, not to mate.
"Eh, lucky guy! I'm perfectly happy with Angela." He halted as he noticed Kevin sniffing. "Huh? What's the matter?"
"You should tell her not to wear that much perfume. Every beastman could smell what going on...", Kevin added with a grin.
"I ain't ashamed!" Duran turned around and tended to his hair a bit. Kevin shook his head to dismiss whatever ideas he had and went down to where the rest was waiting.
"Hey Kev! Where's our lovebirds?", said Hawkeye.
"They still in their rooms."
"Both in one or separate?", was the sarcastic remark from Lise.
"Separate... now, at least. They stopped me from meditating! Gah!", he growled again. Lise shifted in her chair uneasily. This quieted the rest of the company as well. Carlie used the silence as an opportunity to ask Kevin a question.
"Kevin?"
"Yes, Carlie?"
"You think Luna is lonely? 'Cuz maybe that's the problem. Maybe they're lonely without Mana's power around them..."
"I don't know. But you could be right. You are clever young woman!"
Just as the four gathered Mana Heroes wanted to leave, Duran and Angela arrived in full battle attire.
"Finally!", all of them sighed at once, earning them a death glare from Angela and a slight blush from Duran. They headed out into the night.
It was a long walk to the Moonreading Tower: night had fallen when they arrived at its gates. They were barred with steel and protected by a spell.
"Angela, mind taking care of the barrier? I'll dissolve the steel bars..."
After a quick nod, Angela concentrated hard... and before she knew it, a wave of darkness washed through her hands and blackened the barrier. It dissipated with a "whoosh". Then it was Hawkeye's turn as his skills weren't based on Mana as much as on his ninja skills. His Fire Jutsu melted the steel bars away from the doors.
"After you, Lise...", he said gallantly as he bowed.
"Really Hawk, I thought marriage would make you less womanising!" was her teasing answer to that - yet she went ahead, spear held firmly in her hands. Duran and Angela followed suit, focusing on whatever battle there was to come. Then came Hawkeye and Carlie, and Kevin guarded their backs in his werewolf form. They climbed staircase after staircase in search of the elusive Elemental or whatever the cause of the problem was...

"This is hopeless!", said a frustrated Duran as they descended again, not having found Luna or anything else.
"Hmm... maybe it is...", sighed Hawk and Lise at the same time.
"Hey! I know! Come with me, mister Werewolf! Let the others sulk.", shouted Carlie as she tugged on the beast's sleeve. Kevin, despite being in a different form, followed her. The rest of the group was too caught up in their sense of defeat to notice that the two were wandering off.
"See this? This is the wrong staircase we went up! Yep, I remember it, Lise and Hawk and me came from the other door! How could they forget?" Kevin growled. She was right, it had been the wrong door. As they mounted the stairs and came to the place where the heroes had fought the Moon God Beast, Dolan. Indeed, there she was, the Elemental Luna, crying against the moon.
"Hey Luna, remember us? Carlie, the cute li'l priestess from Wendel, and Kevin, the prince of the Beast Kingdom. Why are you so sad? What made you cry and stop the eternal night?"
"Oh... it's my two favorites... where's the rest? I was hoping you'd come... I've fallen ill! My luminance has faded! Wait... I can see the others... Throw them a rope, Kevin!" Kevin obliged as he threw his longest Magic Rope down, and it was only a matter of time before the heroes were all gathered on top of the Moonreading Tower. "It's so good to see you again, all of you... I'm a bit sick, it must be the lack of Mana that has made me a bit ill... You see, we Elementals are not bound to Mana's powers, we are no part of them. We are spirits of this world itself. Once we were normal human beings, just like you, but we were transformed and given the powers of Mana to protect the sealed Stones containing the God-Beasts after the war for Mana. Mana kept us powerful and healthy. We couldn't fulfill our duties when we were ill, or could we? Anyway, there are only two cures for our disease. Either Mana must fully return and replenish our health, either we must acquire something belonging to our opposite Elemental. Dryad and me, Undine and Salamando, Gnome and Jinn, Shade and Wisp: we're all opposites and alike at the same time. Wait a minute, maybe this can help!", she said as she took from inside the tower a piece of paper covered with writings. It had a poem on it which read:
"To Mana's servants' sickness
there is a fitting cure:
for Luna's ache a Lampflower
from Diorre's allure;
for Dryad a Beastman's claw
when man is turned to beast;
for Gnome's madness a feather
from Needlebirds of east;
for Jinn a Molebear, live and well,
from the kingdom of sword;
for Salamando gracious pearl
from Sahagin's cold hoard;
for Undine's pain a sword of hope
heated in flame and fight;
for Shade's relief a cure to pain
caused by the end of night;
and lastly, for the light of hope,
the light of Wendel's priest,
give Wisp a gift of darkness pure,
what Shade can miss the least"
Hawkeye blinked: how could they get a Beastman's claw after it would be transformed? How could they ever find a Sahagin's hoard? And how would they compell Shade to give his most precious possession to Wisp?
"Don't worry, Hawkeye, your worries are not necessary. Go to the palace now. There has been a fight: a Beastman was forced to transform in order to defend his honor and he lost his hand as a result of the fight. Oh, just because I'm now powerless", she added as Kevin stared at her because of her words, "doesn't mean that I have lost my gift of clairvoyance. Go now, the claw will only remain transformed for the duration of the night unless you put a spell on it. Duran is able to do it: just use a Moon Saber spell on it and it'll remain a werewolf claw. Come back soon with a cure!", she said as the heroes took off again. To her surprise, Duran turned around to ask her a question.
"Luna, how come we are able to use magic again? I mean, Mana still hasn't recovered... that would be weird!"
"I'm not sure of the reason either... But be careful. This might not be Mana you're using... although I don't know what else it could be... Now, it's best you hurry back to the castle and aid Kevin! Go now, young warrior, and take good care of Angela!"

It turned out that Luna had been right. One of the cooks had insulted a guard, but the guard had misjudged his opponent when transforming. The cook was a Dervish, just like Kevin, and had bitten the hand of his poor enemy off. Duran tried to cast the spell as Kevin explained to the guard just why his hand was that important to them. Duran let his energy wash through the hand and he knew it had succeeded in containing the hand in its werewolf claw form. In the meantime the rest had been discussing how they were to get to Diorre.
"We could try and use Flammie...", said Lise, but Hawkeye shook his head.
"Do you still have the Wind Drum? Without it, we can't call Flammie over here..."
"No...", admitted the amazon, but then she got an idea. "But I know of a way to get her here!"
Lise went outside and raised her spear, summoning a falling star from the sky. And indeed, a few minutes later, Flammie landed in front of her, growling softly as she set foot on the soil.
"Calm now, Flammie dear... we need your help. Want to lend us a hand?" Flammie nodded as she shrieked affectionally when Kevin and Carlie came outside, leading Jessica with them. "Okay then, when you see the star, you go to it. Now, where are Duran and Angela? They were supposed to come out here as well..." And just as she had said it, Duran came outside with his arm around Angela's waist. Flammie shrieked again, more affectionally, and looked at Lise puzzled. "Long story... Can you take us to Diorre?" The dragon nodded again and sat down so everyone could sit down on her back. After Duran helped Angela and himself on her back, she lifted off into the air and they were on their way to Diorre, land of the elves and of the Elemental of Wood, Dryad.
The elves were certainly not used to having a large dragon land in the middle of their village, judging by the commotion caused by Flammie's landing. Duran jumped off first, lending Angela a hand in stepping off the dragon, followed by Hawk and Jessica, Carlie, Kevin and the Fairy King.
"Hello everyone!", said Carlie after a graceful bow, "Don't you remember me? I'm Charlotte!" Kevin's amazement about that was easily lost in the welcoming words of the elves, who slowly realised that she was the granddaughter of the Priest of Light and that it were the Mana Heroes that came from the dragon's back. They also greeted their king and asked him if he knew about the growing menace the sudden growth of the Lampflower Forest.
"Yes, I know, my children... and I come bearing no good news. The Elementals are trying to call out for us. Prince Kevin of Beast Kingdom has managed to obtain an ancient poem telling of the illness of the Elementals and the necessary cures. They have the cure that Dryad needs, and will deliver it to her - as soon as they know where Dryad may be, of course."
"She has to be at the end of the vines that now grow throughout the forest as long winding ropes. May you be successful, Heroes of the Mana Sword!", said the villagers as the party left the houses behind it and ventured into the forest.

"Wow, those elves couldn't be more right about those vines. They appear to grow wild! But... hey, that's funny, they have no leaves, no branches, not even flowers!", said Hawk a bit too angry. Jessica had stayed behind in Diorre, after giving her husband a kiss for good luck, and he was a bit agitated after Kevin had said he had a bit of lipstick on his cheek. Luckily, he wasn't too agitated to lose his sense of humor when Duran tripped over one of the vines. Grumbling, Duran got up on his feet again - and discovered a small tree, of which the roots had grown wild. It was also sobbing obviously.
"Dryad! Hey, it's so good to see you again, girl... what's the matter? Why are the vines a bit long?"
"I have such ache in my feet, Duran! Isn't the rest with you?"
"Yes, they are... wait a minute... Hey Hawk, come and see what my little tumble revealed to me! A panting Wood Elemental!", he shouted more to the entire group then to Hawk. They came running to him and found the shaky Dryad.
"Look, whe bring you a present", said Kevin as he gave her the enchanted hand.
"A werewolf claw! Just what I need!", she said as she took it from him and started scratching her "feet" - the vines' bases - with it. Immediately, they shrank and Dryad was enveloped in a bright yellow shield. "That'll protect me from disease! Thank you... but I take it I'm not the only one with problems?"
"No. There's a burning sun over Altena, a rainstorm over Navarre, it's day in the Moonlight Forest, Wendel is darkened, the Dark Priests have a luminous disease, winds are silent in Rolante... oh, and Forcena's dwarves have been forced to flee their caves", said Angela.
"Oh... Here, this is for Luna: my most beautiful Lampflower. And this is for the unlucky beastman whose claw saved me. It's a bottle of my tears: guarantees instant regrowth of any tree, shrub or limb."
"Thank you... when you ever need us, just give us a sign!", said the heroes before calling Flammie and flying off to the Beast Kingdom again.

"Oh, thanks! Do also tell the poor guard that I wouldn't have let him lose his hand if I didn't know Dryad could help him. Now, let's see..." Luna put the flower in her hair and immediately she brightened and the daylight outside faltered back into the eternal starspun sky, with a triumphant full moon standing over the castle of the Beastmen. Luna smiled as they bowed deeply. "Thanks again, friends! Here, take this... as a token of my esteem. It's a Moonlight Tiara, kevin, for the girl you most undoubtedly are thinking of even now..." Kevin's cheeks suddenly turned a deep shade of red as Lise started grinning.
"So, Kevin, my friend... when can we meet her?"
"Gah! I... I don't know what you talking about!", he mumbled, but the look in his eyes and the sudden change in his posture made it very obvious to guess he wasn't telling the truth. He stayed behind the rest of the journey back to the castle, and avoided his friends the rest of the evening. Carlie, however, wasn't satisfied with letting him run from her and went to his quarters to wait for him. He jumped when he saw her, of course, then loosened a bit as he realised there was no way he could escape her when she was in his quarters.
"Kevin... you ran away so quickly when we came here! Lise has given the guard the Dryad Tears, and he said to thank you and to tell you that he would have given his hand without Dryad having a cure for it. ...Yep, I'm curious too. You don't have to tell me who she is: I'll understand when you don't wanna talk to me 'bout it." Kevin saw her bow her head and he could tell she was a bit afraid of hearing who he was thinking about.
"I do want to talk to you about it, just not now. Carlie, why didn't you tell me your name is Charlotte?"
"Oh... I dunno. Well, I didn't like to be called "Charlotte" then, and "Carlie" sounded more... like me. It was a real shock to you, wasn't it? Any particular reason for liking or hating that name?"
"Uh... yeah, but that is long story. You sure you want to hear it?", he said hesitantly.
"Well, yes!", she said. She was curious, but silently hoped that the name had some special good memory attached to it, not a bad one. Kevin was not one that gave his trust away, and he was easily scared off.
"Well, after the journey ended last year, me and Beast King had conversation about love and finding a mate. I thought he'd say I had to find a Beast girl, but he didn't. He told me it was okay if I chose human mate. And then he told me of mother. He said she was pretty, with hair like full moon and eyes like the sky. And her name was Charlotte... She was very special in my thoughts and when Beast King told me of her, she became even more special. And when I wanted to know how she had looked like, I thought...", he paused a bit to try and control the upcoming blush, but failed, "... how you will look like when you grow up."
"Really? How nice! I thought of you too... when I missed Mom and Dad before I went to search Heath, I cried and felt sad. But when I was back and missed them, I thought of my new friends. Of Hawk and his cute ninja things. Of Lise and her great magic. Of Duran and his strong fighter look. Of Angela and how she could work with any Elemental. And of you... I looked up to you a lot. We didn't meet much and you were never a talker I think... but when Hawk and Lise and I were in the middle of a fight and we were losing hope, I thought of you and of how brave and strong you were and I fought my way on. We met in the Holyland, and you chose to go and save Faerie even if you would lose the Mana Sword. And you never lost hope because you had to fight for Karl." Kevin smiled, but with a bit of reserve. He didn't know he had been an example for the little half-elven girl. But then again, what had he known for sure during their journey? Deathjester was evil. That was a fact. The only way to revive Karl was to find the Mana Sword. That was a fact too. The Beastmen didn't deserve their fate, but shouldn't have resorted to the powers of the dark either. That was also a fact. But suddenly he realised another fact: Carlie liked her even though the Beastmen had caused her grandfather to fall ill and were the cause of Heath's abduction and eventually his death.
"Carlie... I have question. Why did you like me even if Beastmen caused you much pain? They made the Priest of Light sick and let Deathjester kidnap Heath!"
"Kevin, you weren't with them. You were also hurt by the Beastmen. They made you kill Karl. They made you flee and wander. They made you cry, and howl in anger and fear. I heard you howl at night, tossing and turning as we rested in the Inn the first day we met. But now it's already late... I s'pose I'd better go sleep... see you tomorrow, Kevin!", she said, pretending to be merry, as she headed for the door.
"Hey, Charlotte...", Kevin half-said, half-whispered as the girl turned around.
"Yes, Kevin?"
"Don't be upset. I like you, you good friend of mine, but even better girl and probably greatest Priestess of Wendel ever. Don't be afraid to like me back." They both relaxed and Carlie left, satisfied that Kevin had comforted her.

The next morning, all of them awoke by the sounds of the busy Beastmen servants in the halls. Apparently, when they got downstairs, breakfast appeared to have been served a long time ago since Kevin was already waiting for them.
"How are you able to wake up that early?", muttered Hawk, still half asleep.
"We used to it", was the simple reply. "Now, we plan where to go to next. Rolante and Forcena, or Navarre and Altena?"
"Why not Wendel and Bucca?"
"That is not simplest of tasks. I think we should go to Rolante and Forcena first. What you think?"
"Well," said Duran forcefully, "I think we should ensure that Navarre and Altena should be helped first. I mean, poor Navarrans! They've never even experienced a little bit of rain, let alone a flood like that! And Altena may not seem to be under much danger, but think of what that sun might bring the lands once that ice and snow are all melted! They are just not used to such a climate! Who agrees with me?" Everyone except Kevin and Carlie raised their hand. "Allright, Navarre and Altena it is!"

*AN: And to my readers I leave a choice that might prove difficult and even painful. Of course there's the obvious Duran/Angela pairing in here, but there will also be a romance starring Kevin. Should it be a Kevin/Carlie, a Kevin/Lise or a Kevin/Beast girl? Review and tell me what to make of it, or send me an e-mail! Next chap should be up soon! Seeya!!*