Mana's Mind
by Duran the Gladiator

Chapter 4: Ascent... but no soft landing

Flammie had flown swiftly, as if she felt the concern of the group. It was still light when they arrived at the Corridor of Wind's entrance, where Jinn resided and kept his Needlebirds. But the first thing they saw, was a bunch of feathers - the Needlebird belonging to it was lying on the cold ground, completely plumeless and very dead. As they went through the network of caves, they encountered horrors they couldn't even imagine. The cave before Jinn's held plumes covered with blood - the poor abused Needlebirds laid there in a puddle of their own blood.
"Oh my god!", screamed Lise before running out of the cave. Carlie hid behind Kevin so she couldn't see the mess. Angela fainted, and even Duran had to concentrate very hard to keep himself from following Lise's or Angela's example. A trail of bloody footsteps went to the other exit of the cave. And, indeed, on the plateau sat Jinn. His hands were covered with tiny feathers and blood, and he lay crying.
"Jinn! What's wrong?!", said Hawk when he saw the state Jinn was in.
"Hawk! Lise! Charle! Oh, and you've brought the rest as well! Oh, I'm just so sad, the Needlebirds wouldn't play with me anymore so I waited until they slept and played with them!", he said in an overly cheery voice.
"Play with them?! You've killed them all, goddamn freak!"
"Calm down Duran, you know he can't have helped it", said Lise sternly, "But tell me, Jinn, why have the winds ceased?"
"The winds? B-but the winds, they just won't play with me no more!", muttered Jinn, still acting like a child deprived of toys. Lise drew her conclusions and told the rest of the group to go to Rolante's castle after telling Jinn they'd bring him a new toy soon.
"Guys, you know that every Elemental was a bit affected by a weird disease? Well, Jinn's disease is a form of paranoia - his mind has lapsed back into the simple one of a child. It does make sense: all the others had a disease that made them act the exact opposite of their task. Luna started to cherish sunlight because of her headaches, Dryad's roots grew too long so she actually endangered the forest, Salamando and Undine started to feel their bodily temperatures although they weren't supposed to... and Jinn's ever-so-serious behaviour has now lapsed. Just imagine what Gnome must feel like, his playful nature stifled all of a sudden... he must blame the dwarves and the Forcenans for it. He's seeing and believing things that aren't meant to be seen or believed to be that way!"
"Yeah...", said Duran, "That makes sense, but how do we get a cure for Gnome? We need a Needlebird feather from a live Needlebird!"
"I don't know...", whispered Lise, "Duran, I... I'm sorry... But I think it's best we went to the castle now. We'll see what to do in the morning..."

He was running nowhere, running on a mountain road to a peak that was illuminated by the light of a star. Upwards he went, no wind blowing through his hair, no squeaking birds to be heard... only the night without moon, without stars, without any light except for the light coming from the mountain top. And when he made it there, the light started spreading feathers that tickled him in the belly... and he was sure he heard his Angel's voice whisper:
"She's the Light of Morning, she's the Queen of all Needlebirds, the Winged One, the Dragon Star... the last resort... Flamminosa..."
Duran awoke with a start, panting as he vaguely noticed he was still in bed. Angela's flowery perfume still scented the air. Duran didn't hesitate, he knew what the dream meant and he went to get what he searched. But, he knew as he slipped on his clothes and silently crept out of his room, he had to do a little bit of research to be 100% sure...

Angela was the first to notice that Duran was gone. She had woken up before it was light to go and wake Duran to get to spend some private time with him, but he wasn't in his room. Her search for him led her to the castle's library. The door was open and the hearth was lighted, so he had to have been there. Angela saw the hastily knocked over chair, the pile of books on the table, the damage done to the door when he had ran outside. The chair's seat was still warm so he had to have left moments before she had entered. Angela quickly glanced at the opened books on the table and rushed to wake the others and tell them.

"How did he know?!"
"I don't know for sure, but he knew what to look for and where to go to immediately...", said Angela as she showed them what he had looked up. "Look here: he has underlined all the information about Flammie. "Is called the Dragon Star, the white dragon that appears to live near the wind spirit's dwellings, and is said to reign over all airborn creatures great and small. Ancient legend tells of a similar creature pulling the wagon of the god of the sun, thus being the light of the early morning." Or this: "The creature known as Flamminosa: this name is given to her for her tendency to spread her feathers in the light of dawn."
"Oh dear... he's gone up there!", said Carlie as she was the first to rush outside and take the steep path to the Summit of the Skies.
Duran was already at the top, watching Flammie awaken from her peaceful sleep as soon as the sunlight touched her. She roared, not her usual friendly roar but a mighty dragon's roar to the skies, and flew up. As she hovered high above him, he held his arms stretched out above his head as suddenly the sky seemed to open up and golden feathers rained down. He caught a handful of them before they stopped falling. Smiling, he turned around to see his friends stand there, catching their breath after running up as if they were chased by a Wolf Devil.
"Duran... how?", was all they could utter.
"Ah, well, long story... anyway, I got something that's even better than a mere Needlebird's feathers... I got these golden gifts from their queen herself", he said with a sheepish grin.
"Well, she is much too generous... aren't you, Flammie?" Flammie, completely awake, roared softly as she extended one of her wings to let her passengers on her back. Duran patted his friend's back firmly as the dragon lifted off and flew towards Forcena.

Flammie gently set them down in the Molebear Highland, much to Duran's delight. His heart belonged to the plains where he was used to train and come to himself. He loved the strong scent of earth, grass and sweat - his sweat - that sharpened his senses and made his mind stay focused. But something was wrong: he noticed the state of the land as he set foot on it. As they came closer and closer to the castle, the ground was torn and several swords laid scattered across the plains.
"No... so many lives lost and so many still in danger... let's go to the castle and gain some information!", he said before storming off to the castle, the rest running in his footsteps. The walls were in bad shape, but judging by the relatively loose atmosphere in the castle town, they were still holding out well. Duran was met by his comrades and his aunt and sister.
"Duran, where've you been, chum? We needcha!"
"Hey bro, lucky you came!", said Jeff, the soldier who had warned him about Gnome's rampage.
"Big brother, you're safe!", squealed Wendy as she hugged him, although she looked sad beyond belief.
"Duran!", shouted his aunt before hugging him as well. Duran hugged her back.
"Yeah, it's good to see you safe and sound too. Oh, I'm being rude! Aunt Stella, Wendy, may I introduce you to Charlotte, a priestess from Wendel; Kevin, prince of the Beastmen; Lise, queen of Rolante; Hawk, a thief from Navarre..."
"And a prince too now, mind you!"
"Yeah, whatever... Oh, and last but certainly not least: Angela, princess of Altena and my girlfriend."
"Pleased to meet you", said Stella.
"Duran, do you have a place to stay for the night?", asked Brandon, the other soldier that was present.
"Well, I can't just let them stay at the inn... but no, I have no idea where to put these trouble-makers!"
"Well, let them stay at the soldiers' quarters... most of our men have gone out to secure the lands anyway. C'mon, you show them around... oh, and the King would like to see you after you're done showing your friends the place. You still know the way?", said the man teasingly.
"Hey, not a bad remark for a guy that has more water than brains in his head... yes, I still know the way. See you guys later!"

"...And this is the main hall, where the guys gather in the evenings... oh, these are the quarters where Brandon said I should put you guys up in. Nice rooms, really. Of course, mine are better... I have all the luxury."
"Aw, don't we get to see what a mess your room is?", said Carlie.
"Nope, shrimp... you'd be blinded by its sheer light of magnificense..."
"Aww... and I wanted to see it!", said Angela as she pouted and leaned against her boyfriend.
"Don't worry," he whispered into her ear as he returned the embrace, "I'll give you the special tour tonight." He had meant it not to be heard, but as he saw Kevin look at him angrily, he blushed and returned them to the main hall. "Does anyone want to come with me to speak to the King?"
"Duran... we're all coming, you oaf!", said Lise, her words softened by her smile.
"Okay, okay, I get the point. Tag along...", he spoke as he led them through the corridors that made up Forcena Castle. The King was in the throne room, together with the royalty from every kingdom and community of the world.
"Ah, the Heroes are here... come in!" The friends came in, Duran in front, who kneeled down in front of King Richard.
"I'm at your service.", he said with a friendly wink that was copied by the King - a welcome between friends.
"Duran, you must already know that Gnome is attacking our country. He seems to be angry about something... something to do with the Molebears. He thinks we send him the Molebears to keep him busy while we plot to seal him away... Of course, this is not true. We sent him the Molebears only because we know his playful nature. Molebears never cease to play, at least when they're docile. But Gnome suddenly has stopped playing with them - for no reason at all! They're fighting for him."
"Yes," said Queen Valda, "it seems that Gnome has stopped being childish. As if he matured overnight!" Lise nodded, then stepped forward and bowed before speaking up.
"I believe, my fellow rulers and heroes, that the Earth and Wind spirits have both got a form of paranoia - delusions if you will - that makes them see and believe things that are not true. Jinn, the ever so serious guardian of Rolante's mountains, has become childish and has killed all the Needlebirds because he thought they wouldn't play with him anymore. His haze of immaturity blurs his sight and clouds his mind. Gnome, however, is suffering from such paranoia that made his childlike mind more serious, and he has stopped playing because he now thinks that it is a plot to try and harm him. But, and I stress this once again, it is only paranoia. The Elementals are suffering from illness because Mana's powers are not here anymore to support them. There is a cure for each Elemental, and we are here with the cure for Gnome's paranoia - Needlebird's feathers. We also need a living Molebear to take to Jinn, but that we won't have to worry about until Gnome is cured. Oh, and don't worry, Eliza, I've given the Amazons the order to cut off every road to the Corridor of Winds if Jinn should pose a threat to them."
"All the Elementals are sick," spoke Angela as she walked over to Duran and stood beside him, while he stood up and took her hand - not that great an act if it hadn't been an open confession of their love for one another in front of the world, so to speak - and encouraged her to speak freely, "but four of them are already cured. Altena, Diorre, Beast Kingdom and Navarre are safe. This is no reason to slow down or to lower our guard, but an encouragement to go on. It is the light of hope that we need to continue. And we need to continue for sure - we cannot give up just because of one setback! Duran proved this by going up the Summit of the Skies at the crack of dawn because he knew the only way to get Needlebird feathers when all the Needlebirds were dead. He didn't hesitate. And neither will I, or anyone of us. Of that I'm sure!"
"Indeed...", mused King Richard, deeply touched by the princess' words, "It seems that every country has chosen the right delegate. And, it seems that we all have chosen the right heirs to our throne..." He turned to the heroes. "You are excused. Gnome hasn't attacked today, he retreated in the Cleft of the Earth, I believe. It's safe here for now. I presume you will stay the night in the soldiers' quarters before going off again? Well, a good night to you all then!"

The rest of the day was calm. The group had gathered in the main hall of the quarters and they were all having a good time. It was evening before they knew it. Lise was beating Hawk and some soldiers at playing cards. Kevin was sitting near the fire, thinking about something, while Carlie was reading "The brave Knights of the Old Days" which Angela had given her.
"Say, where's Angela?", asked Hawk out of the blue after having lost another game.
"The gorgeous princess girl? I dunno", answered Brandon. "But where's Duran? He said he'd play along for a few games..." Hawk shook his head, and glanced to Lise, who got the idea.
"Have you seen Angela, guys? I wanted to return her the great book, but she isn't in her room...", said Carlie as she came back into the hall. Hawk and Lise exchanged a few concerned looks, then turned to Kevin, who had heard the conversation and had gone outside into the gardens.
"Err... well, I don't know. Maybe Kevin knows, go ask him."
Carlie went out and found Kevin sitting near a pond, growling occasionally as he tried to clear his mind. He heard her coming and opened his eyes to see her sit in front of him.
"What the matter, Carlie? You look upset..."
"Yeah, no one wants to tell me where Angela is!", the frail girl said. "I heard the strangest sounds coming from somewhere down the other hall... and they sounded like Angela, so I worried..."
"Oh... Angela is all right, she just with Duran, that's all...", said Kevin as he his cheeks turned scarlet. He wasn't used to thinking of such matters, let alone talk about them to a girl that didn't quite understand them yet. "You best let them be alone for a while... perhaps better for long while."
"Huh?" Carlie didn't understand at first, but then it hit her. "...Oh. Good thing I didn't go look for her. ...But hey, what were you upset about just the other minute?"
"I tried to meditate and to focus on battle. It hurts to see them in love. I can never love! I can never love the girl I love..." He growled again as he closed his eyes again when he felt tears sting.
"Kevin... whoever it is you love, just tell her and she'll love you back. I know I...", she stopped just in time to keep herself from saying "do", and said "...would"
"Well, I can't tell her yet... we're both caught in busy lives now. But we're getting closer, me and her...", he said as he winked. Carlie winked back as she thought: I doubt it you mean what I think you mean, but I will win you over!
"Well, I'm tired, Kev... I'd best go and sleep. Would you wake me up early tomorrow? Erm... yeah, I wanna talk with you some more", she said as he looked at her questioning, and she stifled a yawn. Kevin nodded.
"We'll meditate. You like meditating?"
"Yes, Heath says it's a good way to clean the mind." And boy, do I have a lot of cleaning to do!, she mentally added. "See you tomorrow, Kev!"
"Yes, tomorrow...", said Kevin as he secretly knew she was plotting something...

In the middle of the night, footsteps could be heard. Soft footsteps, belonging to a girl. The creaking of a door, then nothing. Thoughts raged through the girl's mind as she went to give a kiss to her secret love. She could have sworn she felt him kiss her back... but she dismissed the idea as she quickly sneaked back to her room.
And in his bed, Kevin smiled as he cherished the feeling of her lips on his.

It was already noon when the heroes set out to find Gnome. The Highlands were shrouded in a mist that hid the ground from them. But where the mole holes were, the mist was absent as a warning to unaware travellers. Duran led the group, confident of his knowledge of the lands. He could lead them blindfolded... but there were new holes he didn't know about. Kevin could hear the wind blow through them and warned him, but he had rather rely on his own senses. The bridge over the Cleft of the Earth was repaired, but as they walked over it several boards were loose, or broken. Many tools lay scattered throughout the caves - the dwarves were litterally caught off guard by Gnome. But as they had searched every tunnel they knew about, there was no sign of Gnome anywhere. Duran started to lose hope. They had looked everywhere, and even Kevin hadn't noticed anything... but then, as if she had super sensitive ears, Lise said:
"I hear the sounds of a battle above us... Duran, where does this tunnel lead to?", and she pointed to a hole in the wall of the cave they stood in. Indeed, there were battle sounds heard above them. But Duran had to think a while before he came to a strange conclusion.
"Either we are just hearing things, either we are right below the walls of Forcena Castle."
They climbed through the hole and the following passage to find themselves in the middle of an all-out fight. King Richard fought off the Molebears that attacked in great numbers while Gnome stood by a group of trees with a smirk on his face.
"You mingle and help the king fight - I'll catch the "general" off guard...", whispered Duran before sneaking off into the dense vegetation. The others looked at the direction he disappeared in, but were left to fight as they joined the King. The battle was intense as neither side was ready to give in. Angela noticed that King Richard had a few small wounds but seemed to fight better than they had thought he could. Kevin quickly knocked out a few Molebears and dragged them away from the fight a bit, so there would be a few of the critters left to take to Jinn. Just as he turned around to join the battle again, a cry was heard - Gnome lay on the ground, pinned down by Duran.
"Y-you! The Knight of Gold!", shouted Gnome.
"Hey, Gnome, old pal!", said Duran with a grin as Gnome struggled to get free from the much stronger warrior's grasp, but failed. Duran took out the Needlebird feathers and his grin broadened.
"What are those? What are you going to do to me?!", said Gnome as his brown face paled to beige. His scream of terror as Duran bent down and placed the feathers on his belly became a fit of laughter as the feathers did their work: Gnome once again became the funny gnome that was always smiling.
"I take it you feel better now?", said Duran as he stood up and helped the Elemental on his feet as well.
"Yeah... thanks kid! I needed that! Phew... oh, King Richard! Are you allright?" But just as he had said that, the King collapsed. Duran and the others rushed to him. It was suddenly clear to Angela why she hadn't seen beyond the small wounds: King Richard had a wound on his left arm while he was right-handed. His shield had hidden the bloodstains from her, and his armor didn't allow the wound to close. He had lost considerable amounts of blood and would die if he didn't rest for a long time. Duran knew this, and he helped carry the King to his room. Queen Valda, who had been trained as a healer, took care of him.
"Duran, Angela, you must go and help the other Elementals. I'll take care of the King. And believe me, I'd rather die myself than to see him die!"
"I know, Queen Valda, I know...", whispered Duran, and he signaled her that it wasn't a secret to him.
"Oh, Angela, could I have a word with you? In private?", she said as she signaled the rest of the group to leave. They all bowed, and went back to their quarters. Duran whispered "I'll be waiting outside" before he left, and gave Angela's hand a gentle squeeze. None of this escaped the Queen's gaze, and she smiled as she turned to her daughter.
"Angela, the King has told me to play open cards with you. As you might already suspect, your..."
"I know, mother, Duran confirmed what I had already guessed", spoke Angela.
"Good...", said her mother, "As you might also know, it's about time I start asking my advisors who would make a good husband for you..."
"Mother, are you serious? I mean, there's no princes left in the world... well, there's Kevin, but he's too young... Hawk is married... Rolante's Prince Elliot is way too young... Forcena has no princes, King Richard has no sons..."
"I think you should look a bit closer to you... Allright, you can go out to your admirer. I'm sure he's heard every word of this conversation... we'll reconsider this matter when your business with the Elementals and the rest of the Heroes is done..."
"Mother, you know I won't give up what I have...", said Angela as she looked at her mother with a fire in her eyes.
"You won't have to, dear", whispered the Queen as she saw Duran embrace Angela. She hadn't been blind, nor deaf for that matter. Her room wasn't far from the soldiers' quarters, and she had heard very definite sounds come from a certain Knight's room. She had seen how the two belonged together, and - how fate works in mysterious ways, she thought as she tended to her wounded friend - the news King Richard had told her gave things a new and interesting twist...

"Okay, okay, thank me later...", said Duran as every soldier he met, congratulated him and thanked him. "Now," he adressed the people gathered in the main hall, including the rest of the Heroes, "who wants to know how I did it?" He paused, and all hands rose as his grin broadened. "It was really easy, anyone could have done it if they knew... You see, on the first occasion we met, Gnome said that he had woken up when the Jewel Eater had carried him to his den. I started wondering: why didn't he wake up when he heard the Jewel Eater coming? Of course, he could have been a sound sleeper... but my second proof came by the Needlions and Molebears that we encountered later on our journey. When they saw me, they attacked, but when I stood behind them, I could take them down before they knew I was there. Why? Those Molebears and Needlions are deaf, my friends, and so is Gnome! So I sneaked behind him - because he might have seen the bushes moving - and caught him by surprise. Too bad no one else came up with it... but hey, I don't blame you guys!", he shouted as several pillows hit him, "You were too busy fighting the soldiers to take care of the general..." The others gave him a short glance before heading out. "I've gotta go now, there's more Elementals to save!" He quickly ran off to the garden, where Flammie had landed, and the Heroes were off to Rolante.

"Jinn? Jinn, where are you? We have a new toy for you!", yelled Lise as soon as they had reached the plateau where Jinn was supposed to be - but wasn't.
"Damn, maybe he went to Rolante, or to Flammie!", said Hawk, who was getting discouraged. But just as the group was about to leave, Jinn came out of nowhere.
"Gotcha! Now will you show me my new playthingie?", he said eagerly as he jumped around them.
"Here you go!", said Lise as she took the Molebears that Kevin had carried. They happily squealed as they ran to Jinn and started playing with him. Jinn was merrily playing as well, but after a while he got tired.
"Stop playing, you guys... stop... stop, stop, STOP!", shouted Jinn as the Molebears wouldn't cut it out. Lise helped him as she knew that Jinn needed them no more. Jinn became aware of the friends as he turned to them. "Hey, how come you're here? What's the matter?" Suddenly he saw his hands - still covered with blood. "Why do I have blood on my hands?"
"Jinn, you..." Lise started, but she was interrupted by Duran.
"It's nothing... you hurt a few Needlebirds, that's all...", said the swordsman as he gave the Wind Elemental a friendly tap on the shoulder.
"Well, are the others sick as well?", asked Jinn, a bit hoarse.
"Only two more, the others are all cured. Shade and Wisp are the only ones left to help."
"Well, then what are you waiting for? Go cure them!", said Jinn as he saw his friends disappear back into the caves. Little did he know they were taking all the Needlebirds with them and gave them a burial outside the Corridor.
"Duran, why didn't you say what he had done?"
"He was better off not knowing what he did to his most cherished birds. Besides, I saw a few of their eggs in Flammie's nest. She'll hatch them, I'm sure... now," he shouted into the darkening sky, "are we going to Shade and Wisp or not?!"

*AN: Readers, I apologise for the descriptions - but I write what I feel like writing. Also, the second pairing will be the first Kevin/Carlie ever written! Three cheers for me! Reviewers might get a surprise... so review!*