--Response Section--

Inferno-Hero:I'm glad there are other people out there share my opinion. I try to be open-minded about most pairings, but I do not like Felix/Karst. Maybe it's because I really strongly support Felix/Sheba…

Master of Reality:Thank you for withholding judgment! I'd get depressed if everyone stopped reading after the prologue. The prologue doesn't actually represent the story line at all…at least until the epilogue…

--End Response Section--

This chapter might not make much sense when compared with the prologue, so be warned. The easiest way to understand this is not to try at all. Ignore whatever the prologue said, and almost treat this as a different story…almost. The prologue won't fit in until the end, unless my story makes more sense than I thought.

Disclaimer: Avari owns nothing. Not Golden Sun (Nintendo and Camelot do) and not Three Kingdoms (some random Chinese guy might…no one really knows, do they). She does, however, own the top-secret Jupiterian spy agency.

Chapter One

Shifting Winds / Bonds of the Heart

"Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been."

—Three Kingdoms, a Chinese historical novel

Centuries ago, the force of Alchemy—the power to manipulate the elements of reality—was free. Unbound, Alchemy entered the bodies of worthy individuals at their birth and granted them the power of Psynergy—the power to control the element of either wind, water, earth, or fire. These possessors of Psynergy came to be called Adepts.

But the force of Alchemy grew more powerful as the world of Weyard aged into its prime. Adepts became stronger, and their powers were more potent. One Jupiter Adept, born with the strongest Psynergetic powers ever recorded, had a vision—one rumored to have come from the gods themselves—of the one ultimate power—the Golden Sun—that would soon appear on Weyard. The person to claim this power would become the Master of Alchemy and would attain unlimited power and immortality.

The learned sages of the small village of Vale knew the danger of this imminent event. Man is by nature corrupted and power-hungry, they said. If the Golden Sun was allowed to appear, humans would fight for it in a final power struggle that would eventually end in the destruction of Weyard.

So they locked it away. With the help of the sages, the Adepts of Weyard sealed the keys to the power of Alchemy in the mountain of Aleph, deep within a sacred temple called the Sol Sanctum. With Alchemy locked away, the Golden Sun would cease to exist. Adepts would still be born from time to time, but their powers would be weaker, and their numbers fewer. Weyard could live with this; the true danger—the temptation of power—would be gone forever.

But in the ceremony of sealing, something went wrong. A misspoken word, perhaps, or an incorrectly cast spell. Exactly what went awry that fateful day has not been recorded. The important thing is the result of that mistake.

Alchemy was not sealed away in the way that the sages intended. Instead of being locked away, Alchemy was…diluted. The power of the Golden Sun was not released—not as one ultimate force, anyway—but the power of Alchemy spread throughout the world, entering all people, worthy or not. Aside from the ungifted ones, all those who have been born on Weyard after the Sealing possess some type of Psynergy, to some extent. The majority can only summon the weaker powers, such as Quake, Flare, Bolt, or Frost, depending on what Psynergy they have. Those with much higher levels of Psynergy, still called Adepts, are still born to this day, but they are rare.

The sages, however, were not concerned with these small errors. In their minds, the rise of the Golden Sun had been prevented, and that should be good enough for anyone. No one considered the possible repercussions.

And so it was that no one thought to correct the improper sealing, and the world was plunged into chaos.

With so many users of Psynergy, clans formed based on Psynergetic type, each claiming superiority over the others. Rivalries sprang up between the different elements and innumerable many battles were fought. These battles were more deadly than any fought with sword and spear, because every soldier could use Psynergy, a dangerous power when used correctly—an even deadlier power when not. Psynergy can be a merciful power, but no common soldier would ever think to receive the proper training, so the people of Weyard used their newly given powers unwisely, using them with brute strength instead of with compassion and wisdom.

The disunity continued, thousands of casualties resulting from the bloody feuds, until the population of Weyard was at a critical point. A solution was needed, quickly. It was then—in the year 456 A.S.—that a strange man named Babi began making his way up through the disorderly ranks of the barely functioning government. A few years later, he had risen to the highest position and declared himself emperor of all of Weyard.

Babi was a mysterious man in many ways. First, he was one of the "ungifted"—one of the few people born without Psynergy in this new world. In the past, ungifted have been considered cursed and demon-ridden by the Psynergy-possessing inhabitants of Weyard. But this lack of Psynergy gave him an advantage—he was unbiased in the issue of dominance among the clans, so he alone was trusted to fairly mediate peace between them. Babi was also unusual in that he had an abnormally long life—he ruled for nearly one hundred years before his death in his home of Tolbi.

The clans of Weyard were at peace for nearly all of Babi's reign. He worked out many differences between the rival clans and was able to subdue the ones who would not agree to peace.

But with the death of Babi in 549 A.S., Weyard was once again plunged into turmoil. When the worst of the fighting died down, the four elemental clans again established their territories as they were before Babi's reign: Mars in the north, centered around the town of Prox; Venus in the southwest, including Tolbi, its main city, and the continent of Atteka; Jupiter in the southeast, controlling Lalivero and Southern Gondowan; and Mercury, which controlled the empire of Lemuria and northern Angara, including the snowy town of Imil.

Now, with each clan seeking to reunite Weyard under its rule alone, the war is escalating again…

—From A History of the Four Kingdoms, written 558 years after the sealing of Alchemy, by historian Akana Varo of Prox

"But why?" The girl's anguished voice echoed through the empty corridors of the Tolbian palace.

"Because, Jenna," replied a male voice, "the people of Tolbi will tolerate you no longer. We live in the kingdom of Venus, and you are not of Venus. You are a Mars Adept. If you had normal amounts of Psynergy, it might not matter so much, but you are an Adept. You were born with higher levels of Psynergy than most will gain in a lifetime."

"So?"

The man sighed. "Jenna, this is for your own good. A Mars Adept living in a clan of Venus Adepts is…unusual, to say the least. It was fine when you were young, but you're a young woman now, and we are part of the respected family of the Venus clan—due to your brother's power. Circumstances have changed."

"I'm not going to Prox! You can't make me!"

A gentle, feminine voice joined in. "Jenna, we love you, which is why this precaution is necessary. If we don't send you to Prox, the people may…take action." The voice paused, then continued in a stronger tone. "Lady Uzume agrees that this solution is best. You'll be with other Mars Adepts…"

"I don't care!" the girl shouted. The doors banged open and a slender redhead ran out of the room, dashing tears from her eyes.

A young man, about eighteen years of age, stood by himself on the dock, away from the throng of people that had gathered a little ways away by the edge of the water. The wind stirred his dark brown ponytail gently as he gazed out at the end of the wooden pier, where a large ship was preparing to sail. Seasoned sailors heaved barrels of water and bales of food and other supplies onto the ship. Not far away, the captain was discussing the ship's route with Lady Uzume.

"…We've received reports that there are fierce storms brewing between Hesperia and Gondowan, my lady. To avoid any danger, we're going to sail on the canal out of the Karangol Sea, go around the tip of Gondowan, and reach Prox that way. It's a good thing the canal was just finished last year."

Lady Uzume nodded her approval. "Are all the preparations ready?"

"Yes, my lady. We should have just enough supplies to reach Prox."

"Then go with the grace of the gods." She moved on to speak with some of the sailors.

"Felix!" He turned to see his sister Jenna running down the hill to the harbor, her long red-brown hair blowing behind her in the wind. She was smiling, and anyone in the small crowd that had gathered on the docks would have assumed Jenna was her normal, cheerful self. But Felix could see that her eyes were slightly red, and her smile was strained. She had stayed in her room for four days, ever since their parents announced their intentions to send her to the far northern stronghold of Prox, in the kingdom of Mars.

She cannoned into him, wrapping her arms around him. He could feel her tears leaking into his shirt as he returned the hug.

"I'll miss you, Jenna," he murmured.

She looked up at him, her smile wistful. "I know. I'll miss you too, Felix."

"Lady Jenna, we're ready to leave!"

Jenna tried to smile up at her brother, but had to rub the moisture from her eyes. "I'm not crying," she muttered rebelliously.

Felix smiled fondly at her. "I know. Good luck, Jenna."

Then she turned away, walking towards the ship that awaited her.

The people of Tolbi watched silently as the young girl boarded the ship. There would be no cheers, no shouts of admiration—as there would have been for any other member of the Venus Clan. Every pair of eyes was trained on the young girl who had tried to fit in with them for seventeen years, regarding her with unfriendly gazes. The silence was a hostile one, and everyone knew it.

Jenna's parents insisted that Jenna was just going away for a short time, that she would be able to come back soon, that this was temporary. But everyone in Tolbi knew the truth: this was exile.

Felix, unable to watch anymore, turned and trudged back up the hill to the outer walls of Tolbi as the sun set behind the hills.

As the ship left the harbor, darkness settled over the land. Night cloaked the city of Tolbi in its embrace.

Tolbi was situated on a hill, ideal placement for a fortress, which it was, in a way. An outer wall—constructed of solid stone two feet thick—encircled the perimeter of the city, once a peaceful trading town at the end of the Silk Road, now the base and home of the few Venus Adepts left in Weyard. Inside the wall, narrow paved streets criss-crossed the city in a seemingly random fashion. Houses, shops, and other various buildings lined the streets, clustered together in a somewhat haphazard way.

This pattern of organization—if you could call it that—continued up to the foot of the grassy hill. Here the buildings stopped where another wall lay, surrounding flowering grounds and the large stone castle that was the home of the Venus Clan.

By this inner wall, in the typical dark of any autumn night, two small figures crouched. They were dressed all in black—tunics, leggings, boots—and had black scarves wrapped around their heads so only their eyes were visible.

The first figure looked around nervously, then placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "Hover," he whispered quietly. The other figure glowed purple, then rose slowly into the air, grabbing at the top of the battlements to stop her ascent. The boy then cast Hover on himself and joined his partner on top of the outer wall, looking out over the carefully-tended grounds at the palace itself.

"They call it a palace," the boy murmured, "but it's almost a fortress!"

"We'll find a way," replied the other. "Hama trusts us to get in there. And we've done some that were nearly this heavily guarded."

"But this is Lady Uzume's palace. They sure aren't going to let us in there easily."

"Well, that's why we're here, instead of some amateur Jupiterian spy. Besides, I saw a big group of people out by the ships. I don't think anyone's here."

"Whatever. Let's go."

The two dropped off the wall, landing behind a clump of bushes. After looking around furtively to confirm the absence of any guards, they crept forward, heading towards the palace.

Getting inside was surprisingly easy. It only took three of the lock picks they had brought to open the little-used servants' door.

But the interior of the palace was a maze. The two Adepts wandered through several floors, searching for their target. Their nerves were on edge; every moment they expected someone to come out of one of the rooms and see them.

"Let's look in this room," the boy whispered.

"We've been into at least ten rooms already. What makes you think this one will be any better?"

"Let's just try it." He edged the door open and grinned, although the expression was hidden beneath the scarf. "Look at this!"

They had found what appeared to be a study. A desk was placed against one wall, papers piled messily on its surface. Tiptoeing over to it, the two found what appeared to be diagrams for battle formations. Under descriptions of army tactics were essays written by distinguished scholars on the subject of Psynergy use in battle.

"Perfect," the boy whispered. He grabbed the most important-looking papers and stuffed them into his tunic.

"Look at this!" His companion had opened the drawers and discovered a sheet covered in neat handwriting. It began:

Lady Uzume,
We have reason to believe that the Jupiter forces are planning a sneak attack against us. We plan to ambush their armies at dawn on the 17th of November to forestall their move. We request extra troops for this…

"Jupiter!" the boy murmured. "That's less than four weeks away! Hama's gonna love this." He slipped the paper into his pocket and the two began digging through the other drawers.

Footsteps approaching the room startled them from their search. The two stared at each other, wide purple eyes meeting green ones. Then they dashed for the door, which was badly designed to open outwards into the corridor. Hiding behind the partially closed door, they held their breath and waited.

The footsteps drew nearer. The purple-eyed figure held up three fingers. The other nodded.

Three…

Two…

The person halted outside the room.

One…

The door began to open wider.

Go!

The two Adepts slammed open the door, smashing the guard across the corridor and into the opposite wall. Then they ran for it, no longer bothering to keep quiet. Speed was what mattered now.

The guard's eyes fluttered. He had been knocked momentarily unconscious, but his helm had taken most of the impact. "In…" he croaked. He cleared his throat and shouted. "Intruders! Intruders on the third floor!"

The two Adepts flew down the hallways, spurred on by fear. Behind them they could hear doors crashing open and shouts of "Stop!"

The two raced towards the flight of stairs. If they could just get to the ground floor in time…

With a thud, they collided with an armored soldier who had been running up the stairs toward them. The three tumbled head over heels down to the second floor, where they lay there moaning.

The boy was the first one on his feet. The soldier seemed to be knocked out, but his companion was injured, too.

"What's wrong? We have to get out, now!"

"I can't." Brilliant green eyes dimmed with pain. "I think my ankle's broken, or something. I'm not getting out of this one."

"You have to! I'll carry you out!"

"No, Ivan. Get yourself out. Take the plans to Hama. I'll be okay."

The boy bent down and attempted to lift his companion up. She shoved him away.

"You have to get out!"

He looked to the stairs. About twenty soldiers were racing towards them, armed with both bladed weapons and Psynergy.

"Go! I'll be fine! Just get back to Hama! She needs you!"

The guards had reached her. Ivan ran for it, leaping out the window and plummeting ten feet into a large bush that broke his fall.

Back inside the palace, half of the guards raced for the stairs that led to the first floor, heading for the front door in the hope that they could catch the other young spy. The remaining soldiers surrounded the injured spy, eliminating all hopes of a rescue.

In the grounds, the guards conducted a thorough sweep of the area. Extra guards were placed on the gates. But no one noticed the small shadow that Hovered over the wall and took off running, heading southeast.

Once outside of Tolbi, Ivan slowed his pace. Settling into a comfortable loping stride, he gritted his teeth in anger.

The clan of Venus would pay for this. He would return to Hama…and then he would take revenge. He would rescue Sheba, and he wouldn't rest until she was safe in Lalivero.

Felix stalked down the hall, unexpressed anger evident in his stride.

"Get the boy!"

"We'll stay here and keep an eye on this one!"

"Hurry!"

Felix paused at the end of the hallway where the walls of stone widened into a landing where a staircase led up to the third floor and down to the first.

Well, I am part of the Venus Clan, Felix thought wearily. Time to start acting the part, I guess.

He emerged onto the landing and eyed the scene. Seven Venusian soldiers—handpicked because they were slightly more adept with Psynergy than the average person—were clustered around a black-clad figure that lay limply on the floor. Another group of soldiers was racing down the stairs, making a loud racket what with their poorly-forged mail shirts, spears, shields.

"What's going on here?" Felix snapped, sounding much more confident than he felt.

"My lord—" Felix winced. Only Uzume deserved the title of ruler. His parents were no one important—he was only part of the clan because he was an Adept. "—two spies were discovered in the palace a few minutes ago. We've got one here—Jeran and his group are chasing after the other."

Spies? Felix could barely believe what he was hearing. No one, in all the history of the wars of Weyard, had ever captured the spy of another clan. Actually, there had been few spies since the history of the clan rivalries—the risk was too great, and few were skilled at such tasks, anyways.

But recently, the Jupiter forces had been more aware of attacks than was accountable by even their Psynergetic powers. Like that attack last week, remembered Felix vividly. Ten Jupiter companies had ambushed a Venus troop that had been on a completely secret reconnaissance mission. Not one Venusian soldier had been left alive.

Maybe these spies…

"My lord, what should we do with 'im?" One soldier motioned at the prone body lying on the stone floor.

"Er… What happened to him?"

"Injured in some way, before we got here. Don't know how, my lord, but then Barra knocked 'im out with his spear handle while the spy was incap...in…hurt."
Felix sighed, resisting the urge to rub his temples. Stupid fighters. They always had to find the most violent solutions.

"All right, put him in my room. I'll speak with Lady Uzume about this."

"Thank you, my lord."

The company moved off, one man hoisting the limp body in his arms.

And that is the end of chapter one. Told you it wouldn't make sense.

Felix: You have a twisted mind…

Not as twisted as the guy who wrote Lord of the Flies! That is an evil book! I mean, I like reading, but that was the most sadistic, disturbing, and most horrible book I have ever read.

Felix: Right… Stop ranting; your readers don't care one bit.

Review, s'il vous plait!