Chapter 4: Deals with Strangers
Saturos took a step back from the cottage. "Who are you?" he asked the blue-haired teenager. "What are you doing here?"
The teen took a step forward as Saturos took another step back. "I might ask you the same thing," he said, unfolding his wiry arms. "You don't look like Angarans, or even Hesperians. Your hair, your skin, your eyes . . ." His thin eyebrows lifted in slight surprise. "Could you be from Prox?"
"What does it matter to you?" Menardi demanded. "We come here all the time to trade with the elderly couple! Where are they?"
The teenager turned around and gestured to the cabin. "Alas, they are sick," he said. "Both have come down with a nasty case of the flu. I arrived here two days ago and have been treating them since. They're quite ill, you see, and I would not like them to die. The world can learn so much from its elderly." He turned back around.
"So, how did you get here?" Felix interrupted. "I mean, we didn't see any other ships."
The blue-haired teen blinked at him, startled at seeing him for the first time. "Now you," he said, walking over and looking at Felix, "you are an Angaran. What are you doing traveling with these Northerners?"
"They said they need me to"--Saturos suddenly covered Felix's mouth.
"Why he's with us is none of your business," the blue-skinned man said.
"And how I came to be here is none of yours," the teenager replied. "I suppose that will be all? Then I must get back to my patients, if you do not mind. You say you know them, so you are welcome to come in and visit." He walked back into the cabin, leaving the door open. Saturos left his crate on the ground and followed the stranger, his crimson eyes narrowed. Menardi shook her head, motioned to Felix, and also walked in to the cabin. Felix was the last to enter, and he carefully closed the door behind him.
The blue-haired teenager was kneeling next to the old man's bed, changing the cloth that draped his forehead. The old man coughed a few times, then suddenly gripped the teen's tunic. The teen rubbed the elderly man's wrist and whispered something.
Saturos, Menardi, and Felix all stared when a tiny fairy appeared in the air and sprinkled its magic over the old man. The teenager's eyes were closed, and white waves of energy flowed like water over his body.
"Psynergy!" Saturos whispered. The teen's fairy soon vanished, and the old man's coughing had subsided as he fell back into slumber. The teen released the older man's wrist and turned to look at his three guests.
"Why do you look so shocked?" he asked, standing up. "You three know Psynergy as well, don't you? I can see its power pulsing in your veins. I must wonder what business you two"--he nodded to Saturos and Menardi--"have so far south, and what business this Angaran has so far out to sea."
Saturos took a step toward the teen. "That all depends. I have not seen that Psynergetic Power before. What kind of Adept are you?"
The teenager made an odd face, a kind of smile with his eyes while his mouth was still set. "Come now, it can't be that hard to figure out. Would you like a demonstration?" He turned to the fireplace and held out his right hand as he began to glow with Psynergetic light once more. "Douse," he said softly, and water fell from a sudden raincloud to put out the fire. He put his hand down and turned to face Saturos. "If you would be so kind," he said, motioning to the fire. Saturos scowled, but cast Flare to get the fire going again.
"Water," Menardi breathed. "A Mercury Adept!"
The teenager nodded. "Indeed. Only Mercury Adepts can call forth Ply, the sprite you saw earlier. It's a sacred healing power."
"That still doesn't tell us how you got here," Saturos said.
"Ah, yes. The question of how I arrived at this place without even a boat. Well, you see, I have trained my Psynergy for several months, and hence have developed a power of instantaneous movement." The blue-haired teen nodded slightly to himself and to Saturos. "It took me quite a bit of time to master the Psynergy, but now I can come and go as I please."
Saturos' blue face had gone oddly pale. "Teleportation!"
Menardi stared at her companion, then turned her attention to the Mercury Adept. "Teleportation? How did you master that? I've heard it's only possible with a Teleport Lapis, and you can only find them in Mars Lighthouse!"
"Oh the contrary," the teenager said. "I worked hard to master the movement Psynergy after I left my place of birth. I was an apprentice in that town, you see, but I couldn't stand to stay in such a small village any longer, despite the kindness of my teacher. I needed to see the world. And now, thanks to the warp power, I have seen quite a bit of it. Or, at least, this half of it. Gaia Falls prevents me from going to the other side."
"The other side?" Felix asked, his voice slightly higher than normal with his confusion. "I thought Weyard was flat."
"It seems that way, doesn't it?" the teen chuckled. "I don't know what you've been taught, but I believe there is another side to Weyard. Gaia Falls is the rift that divides the sides. Perhaps I'm wrong, and the world is flat. Who can say?" He shrugged. "No one knows. It has been centuries since the beacons were extinguished, so if there ever was another side to Weyard, no one remembers now."
Felix glanced at Saturos, who nodded almost invisibly. "We're going to light the beacons," Saturos said. "As you guessed, we hail from Prox. If we don't hurry, Mars Lighthouse will fall into the rift and all hope will be lost."
The teenager's blue-green eyes sparkled with some emotion Felix couldn't name. "You're going to fire the Lighthouses?" he asked.
"We want you to come with us," Menardi said. "We'll need you to enter Mercury Lighthouse. And if you won't come willingly, we'll force you."
"No, no," the teen said, shaking his head. "I'll come willingly. More than willingly. I also want to see the beacons lit. But do you have the Elemental Stars? You will get nowhere without them."
Saturos scowled and looked at the floor. "We tried to obtain them, but there was a trap in Sol Sanctum," he said. "The sealers of the Stars obviously wanted no one to obtain them again. We triggered a massive storm. Hence Felix here." He jerked his head in Felix's direction. "He was drowning in the river from the storm we caused. We saved him along with three others from his village."
"And you are from . . . ?" the teenager asked Felix.
"Vale, a town at the foot of Mount Aleph," Felix replied.
"I know of Vale. What do you know about the Elemental Stars?"
Felix scratched the back of his neck. "Not that much, really," he said. "They don't talk about them much. All I know is that Vale's supposed to guard them."
"We must talk more when we reach Prox. I assume that is where you are headed." The teenager turned around and held out his hands. A wave of Psynergy engulfed him. "Pure Wish!" he yelled. Fairies appeared over both of the elderly couple, along with the teen, and sprinkled their shimmering powder. When the fairies vanished, the teen turned back around and nodded. "They will be fine now. I was trying not to use that in order to save my energy for teleportation, but since I am now traveling with you, I imagine I'll have time to recover my power. Allow me to introduce myself." He bowed slightly. "My name is Alex, a Mercury Adept from the village of Imil. And as for you three?"
"I am Saturos, and this is my traveling companion, Menardi. We are Mars Adepts who, as you already know, come from Prox."
"And I'm Felix, and I'm a Venus Adept from Vale."
"I am pleased to meet all three of you. I will be happy to help you gain access to Mercury Lighthouse." He frowned. "You do know where the four lighthouses are, don't you?"
Saturos looked away, and Menardi elbowed him. Alex let out a sigh. "I suppose that is a no.' Mercury Lighthouse is very close to Imil. Venus Lighthouse is on the coast of Gondowan. You should know where Mars is. And even I am not sure where Jupiter Lighthouse can be found."
"We were going to ask our elders when we returned to Prox," Saturos said quickly, trying to rub off the idea that he might be a fool.
Alex smiled with his eyes again. "Of course you were. May I ask what you were planning to do when you reached Jupiter Lighthouse?"
"We'll have found a Jupiter Adept by then," Menardi said.
"Or so you hope," Alex added. "Let us go. The more time we waste talking here, the longer it will take to regain the Elemental Stars."
"What about the elders?" Saturos asked, nodding toward the two occupied beds.
"They will wake up feeling healthier than ever before," Alex said. "They'll want to run about in the snow and play like children, if Pure Wish did its job. We can leave them to sleep. They will be fine." He picked up a small bag that had been lying in the corner of the cabin "I keep my money in here, along with some other supplies," he explained. "My weapons, some armor, a few herbs. They're quite useful."
"Are you telling the truth about having been across the land of Weyard?" Menardi wanted to know.
Alex grinned. "Come, now, would I ever lie to you?"
"We don't know you well enough to say," Saturos replied. "Let's get going. We have little time to waste."
Alex gestured toward the door. "After you," he said. Saturos turned slightly to let Menardi pass in front of him, then walked out himself. Felix was third, with Alex directly behind him.
"Do you know why they wish to rekindle the beacons?" Alex spoke so quietly that Felix almost didn't realize that the remark was directed at him.
"They said something about Prox and the edge of the world," Felix replied. "The same thing they were talking about in the cabin."
"I mean," Alex continued, "do you know what will happen when the beacons are lit? Do you know the power that will wash over Weyard like a cleansing wave?"
Felix looked back at Alex with a quizzical look on his face. "A cleansing wave?" he repeated.
"Have you heard of the Golden Sun, boy, and what it can do for us mere mortals?" Alex said.
Felix wrinkled his nose. "Saturos mentioned something about a Golden Sun. Said that because of it, people killed freely in a war for power."
"Perhaps," Alex said. "But suppose if only one person held all that power. Would there still be a war?"
"What are you asking?" Felix said.
"It is not important right now," Alex said, shaking his head, as if he had just spilled an important secret to Felix. Still, he looked somewhat excited. "Just to see the Golden Age of men restored gives me reason to rejoice. To see Weyard returned to its former glory is my only wish."
Felix frowned. "Then what were you talking about earlier?" His only answer was another eye-smile from Alex. Felix started to ask again. "Well, what did you--"
"What on earth are you two chattering so excitedly about?" Saturos demanded as he picked up his box that had been sitting on the snowy earth.
"Nothing. Do not concern yourself," Alex said. Felix looked at Alex to see that his face was back to its normal, calm demeanor. Alex took the lead in front of Felix, who followed at Saturos' yell of "Hurry up, whelp!"
"What was that about?" Felix muttered to himself.
The group hiked their way back to the coast to see a crew of seabirds swarming their ship. A couple of large lizards were digging their claws into the wooden hull and hissing.
"Of all the days to run into monsters!" Menardi groaned. She set her pack down and held out her hands. "Inferno!"
The lizards were hit full-on by her fiery blast, and they turned to look at their attacker. With an exchange of shrieks, they lowered themselves to all fours and charged at the blonde.
Saturos leapt in the way. "Pyroclasm!" he yelled, thrusting his hands out toward the monsters. Waves of lava engulfed the two lizards, pushing them back to the ship, where they made a nice crunching noise as their bodies slammed into the wood. Both of the lizards staggered away from the ship and swayed slightly. One turned his attention to Felix and charged.
Felix yelped and stretched out his hands, though they shook terribly. "Qu-Quake!" he yelled. The lizard was hit by the Psynergy, but kept on charging, seemingly unaffected.
Alex held out one hand and glowed with energy. "Ice!" Tiny lances of ice rained down from the sky, piercing the lizard's thick hide and leaving frozen patches all over its thick scales. The lizard shook its head wildly, but still charged onward.
"Heat Slash!" Menardi cut the lizard down, her scythe glowing with flame as she did so. It roared one final time before sinking to the snow and letting its blood spill out like red paint. Felix turned to see that Saturos was relentlessly fighting the other lizard with his sword, casting a Pyroclasm occasionally. Saturos' battle didn't seem to be going too well; true, Saturos wasn't receiving much of a beating, but it looked like the lizard wasn't, either.
Alex glanced at the blue-skinned Mars Adept and smiled. Felix watched as one of his hands shimmered a pale blue. A jet of water suddenly shot up from the ice-covered ground, sending the lizard flying into the sky.When it landed again, it was soaking wet and looking rather angry.
Saturos stared at where the water had appeared, his crimson eyes wide. "What in Mars' name was that?"
The lizard hissed loudly, its sunken eyes focusing on Saturos. It rose to its hind legs and slashed the air with its claws. "Impressive," Alex said very quietly. "But not nearly good enough to defeat me. Let's see how Saturos chooses to finish you, shall we?"
Saturos leapt forward, plunging his sword into the monster's torso. The lizard started to raise one arm to clobber Saturos with, but the Mars Adept stretched out his hand as he withdrew his dripping sword. "Flare Storm!" he yelled before quickly jumping back. A wall of flames surrounded the lizard, and it fell into the snow, writhing for a short moment, then got back up to stand upon all four of its wobbling legs. Saturos leapt up, jumping onto the lizard's back, then ran his sword through the general area of its heart. The lizard sank into the snow, a red puddle spilling from its two wounds.
"Now," Menardi said, "for the birds." Seven of the thirteen birds flew down from their destruction of the mast to face her and Saturos. Three launched themselves at Menardi's hair, and Saturos was fending off four of his own.
"This is getting quite dull, wouldn't you say?" Alex asked Felix, who stared at him in wonder. At the sight of Felix's expression, Alex nodded. "I thought so. I'll end it, then." He walked back up from where Saturos' shove had placed him. "Saturos, Menardi," he said. "Back off. This will hurt quite a bit if you do not."
"Be quiet! We can take care of ourselves!" Menardi replied, desperately trying to untangle one of the birds from her blonde locks.
"Menardi," Saturos said, barely knocking one of the birds away from his eyes, "perhaps we should let this Alex handle this and see how far he gets."
Menardi grumbled, finally yanking the bird from her hair. "Fine! So be it, Alex! If you believe you can handle these monsters better than we can, then go ahead and try!" She stepped back with Saturos, leaving Alex alone with the monster birds.
Jets of water shot once more from the earth, flinging the birds into the sky two at a time, with one bird taking up a pillar all its own. As soon as each bird came crashing back down to earth, another pillar of liquid shot them up again. Soon, all seven birds were lying on the coast, their bodies soaked. They struggled to rise again, but Alex held out his hand and Douse rained upon them, drowning all of them at once.
The other six birds circled around the crow's nest once before diving down to where Alex was. All six of the monsters were shrieking at the Mercury Adept. Alex shrugged and held out his hands. Sprays of water once again filled the air, but half of the birds flapped out of the way in time to avoid the deadly jets. The sprays slowly began to subside, and Alex's face was beginning to tighten as his power drained away. Saturos saw this and smiled.
"Do you need help, Alex?" he asked.
"No, I can handle this on my own, thank you," Alex replied.
"I think not," Menardi said, snorting slightly as she watched Alex's water blasts grow weaker. "Allow us to interfere, and you'll live. Unless, of course, you want to die by pecking." She snickered.
"I can handle this," Alex repeated. The water jets stopped bubbling from the ground, and Alex instead resorted to casting Douse and Frost time and again. The birds began to attack him in droves, but he continued using his shrinking Psynergy supply to fend them off.
"Step back, Alex!" Menardi said. "It's obvious that you're too young and weak to fend off all of them."
"I handled the last seven, didn't I?" Alex continued, swatting some of the birds away from him.
"Step back!" Menardi repeated. Alex hesitated, but his eyes widened as his most recent casting of Douse withered away into nothingness. He looked down at his hands, and the birds continued lunging at him.
"Alex! Your Psynergy is exhausted! Step back, and we'll show you our skills!" Saturos said. "We also have powers of our own!" He and Menardi stepped forward, and Alex finally nodded to them and took a step back. The Mercury Adept's breaths were hard, and the birds had left several scratches on his face as souvenirs. None of them had quite managed to break through Alex's thick clothing, or his legs and arms would have been bleeding as well.
Saturos and Menardi stood side-by-side, their shoulders touching. Fiery red Psynergy swirled around them, laving smoky trails of heat in the cold Northern air. Their twin pairs of red eyes began to glow as they both held out their hands. Saturos' hands glowed a bright orange, and Menardi's were a dark red. Felix could see it coming; a Pyroclasm followed by Menardi's Inferno.
He was taken aback when both of their energies became a bright red. "Supernova!" they yelled together. An explosion filled the air around the birds, but some of its energy was carried to Felix and Alex. Felix stepped back, feeling like the heat was clawing at his flesh, and Alex winced slightly. After Supernova had subsided, Saturos and Menardi leapt forward, their weapons drawn. Saturos swung his sword in a quick circle, taking out three of the birds, while Menardi eliminated two more with one well-aimed Heat Slash. The last bird flew around in a wobbling circle before crashing to the ground, where Menardi cut open its stomach with her scythe.
Alex stared at the remains of the monster-birds. "What power," he breathed. "What absolute power! I never imagined . . ." Shaking himself from his amazement, he walked over to the hull of the ship, inspecting the spots that the lizards had been mauling. "Will this be all right?" he asked Saturos.
"It will be fine," Menardi said. "There's steel plating under the wood. It was once a Lemurian ship. The Ancients know how boats should be made."
"Well then, let's go," Alex said. "I'm rather anxious to see the beacons lit. Let's not waste any more time." He walked over to the side of the ship and began climbing the rope ladder that extended over its side.
"Alex!" Saturos called. Alex stopped climbing the ladder and turned slightly to look at Saturos. The Mars Adept had folded his arms. "Do you believe now that Menardi and I are capable of taking care of ourselves?"
Alex nodded, though he appeared to be stifling a laugh. "Of course, Saturos, of course! Come now, why would I ever doubt you?"
Menardi kicked one of the monster-bird corpses away from her. "Why do I get the feeling that wasn't sincere?" she muttered.
"I am younger than you, however," Alex continued, oblivious to Menardi's remark, "so my Psynergy reserves have not yet reached their full potential. Not to mention that using Pure Wish depleted my reserves quite a bit."
Saturos narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing," Alex replied. "Merely that I still have quite a bit of time to build up my power."
"Do you go so far as to suggest that you are stronger than us?" Menardi demanded, thrusting one arm out to her side. "Have you forgotten our Supernova? My Heat Slash? Saturos' Pyroclasm? Do not underestimate us, Alex!"
"I," Alex replied, "said nothing of that sort. You have misinterpreted me, Menardi. I merely said that I still have a long way to go to be at your level."
"That's better," Saturos said. Alex returned his attention to the rope ladder and finished climbing, leaning over the railing and gazing down at the three Adepts below.Menardi began to climb as well, her scythe strapped to her back and leaving long trails of blood dripping down the back of her skirt. Saturos waited for Felix to climb.
Felix stood, paralyzed, in the snow, staring at the body of the lizard Menardi had slaughtered.
"Such power," he whispered. "I . . . I can't believe this! Pyroclasm, Inferno, Supernova . . . all the most elite forms of Mars Psynergy! And those attacks Alex used! How can it be? How can they have this much power?"
"Whelp!" Saturos called, using his new nickname for Felix. "Get on board, unless you want to stay on Kalt Island forever!"
Felix jumped slightly, then nodded and ran to the rope ladder. Once on board, he stared at the mutilated monster corpses on the coast.
"Surprised that they wield so much power?" Alex asked. "I know that I am."
Felix nodded. "I've never met anyone who can do any of the Psynergies they used! You're pretty powerful as well!"
"I spent quite some time training on my own," Alex said. "My mentor probably knows less than half of the Psynergies I've mastered. As for Saturos and Menardi, I suspect they are some of the strongest warriors in Prox."
Felix bent over the railing of the ship, staring down into the icy waters. "I guess I just never expected to meet anyone like you. You're only probably a year older than me, but you know so much more. Those pillars of water you made were amazing!"
Alex nodded slightly. "But don't distress yourself. People learn at different rates." Felix leaned further over the railing, and Alex frowned. "Felix, are you feeling all right? You're looking a bit green."
Felix promptly emptied the contents of his stomach into the sea.