Mwahahaha! As of today, I have graduated from eighth grade! I am now officially a high schooler! Fear me!

Felix: X.X She's been like this all day…

--Review Responses--

ice-phoenix-chan: Well, the real name of Three Kingdoms is actually Romance of the Three Kingdoms (romance as in glory and heroes and drama, not love). So while Three Kingdoms is actually a romanticized version of what happened when the Han dynasty fell, it's really more like a novel. It's not boring, like my history textbook. And no, I'm not going to tell you how the prologue ties in, because that would defeat the purpose of the entire story!

Inferno-Hero: Thanks! I suppose Felix/Karst might make sense…but I still dislike that pairing…

Tetra Seleno: Hello again! The 'spy' idea has actually been churning itself around and around in my head for a while…so I had to write it to get rid of it. I know there are Felix/Karst fans…but I'm not one of them. I don't hate the pairing (I try to be open-minded, I really do!) but Felix and Karst don't seem to go well together.

Master of Reality: Yeah…I'm not quite sure what that did, either… I am trying to make this original, but I'm probably getting inspired by books, fanfictions, and movies that I might not even remember! The subconscious is weird that way…

--End Response Section--

Disclaimer: Avari owns nothing. Except her graduation diploma…

Chapter Two

Clouds on the Horizon / Trouble Looming

Since the sealing of Alchemy nearly four hundred years ago, the four elemental clans have fought with each other in the struggle to survive and conquer. Many battle strategies—those recorded from ancient times and new ones tested for the first time on the battlefield—have been tried in these four centuries. Many have succeeded, and many have failed.

In the past hundred years, alliances have become a common way for two clans to attempt to work together to destroy a mutual enemy. But harsh words lead to blows, and no alliance has lasted long. In the fight to vanquish all the other kingdoms, no clans can forget its rivalries long enough to work together. And so the war rages on…

Now the Jupiterians have broken our treaty. They claim we were the first to go back on the oath we both swore, but we have done nothing… And now they are coming for us, assisted by the Mercurians—King Hydros actually lent ten of his legendary Psynergetic vessels to them.

Damn the Jupiterians. May Mars smite them and their gods-cursed allies. Not that we'll ever live to see that day…

We are trapped in a never-ending cycle. What fights, falls, but rises up again in a stronger form. The clans will never die; indeed, if they did, all of Weyard would fall with them, because the four elements make up all matter in this world—equally. How ironic…

Matthias says the Jupiterian forces will be here in two days. To survive their attack…that is too much for us to hope for.

Gods, I do not fear death; it would be a better end than where this earth is headed. Grant me a quick end…

But I doubt any gods are listening. If any merciful gods were watching what is befalling this earth, they would have annihilated the human race ages ago...

Save us, Mars, they are coming… I can hear the winds…

—The final entry in the record of Mika Nari, record keeper of Prox from 376 to 385 A.S.

A few miles south of the town of Imil, a blond-haired boy, about seventeen or so, paused and looked around him. In the dark of night, the snow blanketing the surrounding trees glowed white. All seemed quiet, but Isaac sensed something nearby.

Drawing his sword, he turned in a slow circle, listening carefully, but he could hear nothing. There was just a faint feeling that something was not right…

Shrugging, Isaac started walking again, leaving his sword unsheathed.

Isaac, a young warrior of the Venus Clan, was an Adept. He had been sent by the Lady Uzume, head of the Venus Clan, to Imil. Her instructions were explicit: do whatever possible to influence the few Mercury Adepts posted there into a truce with the Venusians. Without the Mercury Clan attacking on one side, the Venus Clan had a chance for survival. Without the support or peace of the Mercurians, the Venus Kingdom would not last long.

Suddenly, a large gray wolf leapt out at him from behind a clump of trees. There had been no warning, but Isaac had been raised as a warrior ever since he was strong enough to hold a sword. It was only his trained reflexes that saved his life.

Isaac barely blocked the wolf's attack with a parry of his blade that left a bloody gash across the beast's side. Dodging the swings of its claws, Isaac backed up, step by step, waiting for an opening.

He found it. With a yell, he lunged forward and ran the beast through. In the process of wiping his sword on the snow to clean it of blood, Isaac froze. He looked up. Coming through the trees were about ten wolves, their maddened eyes glowing in the darkness, their teeth stained yellow. They were encircling him, leaving him no way to escape.

It would be a fight to the death.

As if following an unspoken command, five of the wolves dashed for him at once. He killed one quickly, but another left a long slash on his arm. The third feinted, and while he watched it, a fourth leaped onto his back, sinking its claws into his flesh.

Isaac gasped in pain, still managing to whirl around, knocking the beast off-balance. He slashed at it with his sword, but more of the wolves had emerged from the trees. Isaac barely felt any pain when a large wolf sank its teeth into his left arm; he felt almost separate from his physical body, as if he was watching a stranger do battle for his life.

Isaac's eyes were dimming. In a last attempt to save himself, he cast the most powerful Psynergetic spell he knew.

"Mother Gaia!"

Surrounded by dead and dying wolves, Isaac sank to the ground and lay there unmoving.

"Mia, we need you!"

A loud knock on her door woke the Mercury Adept from sleep. At the sound of her former apprentice's urgent call, the girl forced herself to stumble out of her warm bed, wrap herself in a dressing gown, and open the door.

Standing outside her bedroom was Alex, one of the four healers in Imil. His dark blue eyes were worried, and his usually silky hair was damp and matted. The dilapidated condition of his hair—more than anything else—told Mia that something was wrong.

"What is it, Alex?"

He gestured down the stairs, past the row of rooms that the healers of Imil occupied. "Keth and I found a boy while we were looking for more herbs. He's in pretty bad shape. You'd better see to him."

Mia nodded and followed Alex down the hall and down to the first floor of the small house where all Mercury Clan Adepts in Imil stayed. Lying on a couch in the main room was a boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with dirty blond hair. His skin was strangely pale. Mia was puzzled, until she noticed the amount of blood on his clothes, which were in tatters.

"Neptune, he's a mess," breathed Mia. She went to the boy's side and checked for a pulse. The faint feeling of life was there, just under her fingertips. "I think he might have a chance," she murmured, more for her comfort than for Alex's.

Quickly, Mia rolled up her sleeves, placed her hands on the boy, and called upon the healing power she had inherited as a member of the Mercury Clan. "Ply."

A blue light glowed on her fingertips, and spread to the boy's body, concentrating on the most serious wounds. As the Psynergy faded, the boy coughed violently, then began to breathe more easily.

Alex watched as the young healer worked. Her pale face was determined and her mouth was set in a grim line. She was so different from the young girl he had known in Lemuria. Back then, they had both been innocent children, carefree and unknowing. But since her parents' death two years ago, Mia had changed dramatically. It seemed to Alex that she lived solely to heal others. She had volunteered to be sent to Imil to get away from the memories that haunted her in Lemuria.

"Alex!" The blue-haired man looked up at Mia. Her deep blue-green eyes were wide and scared in her small face. "He's lost too much blood. His…his body's not healing right. I need you to take over while I mix up a potion for him."

"All right." Alex knelt down by the boy and concentrated fiercely as he cast a healing spell. He had been studying under Mia, but when his Psynergy levels had exceeded hers, she had admitted that she was unfit to teach him. Mia still had the most skill out of the four healers, though.

Still mixing the potion, Mia looked over Alex's shoulder as he cast Ply on the dying boy. "Even after losing that much blood, we should be able to revive him," she murmured. "Why won't he wake up? Something's not right…" She put the mixture down.

Alex stood back and watched, concerned, as Mia closed her eyes and immersed herself in her Psynergy…

In another snow-covered region of Weyard, a slender redheaded girl with pink skin tramped through the deep snow. Her two friends ran to catch up. One was a sturdy young man with blue-gray hair and an oddly-colored face, ran to catch up with her. The other was about the same age, with a flaming head of red hair and a cheerful smile.

"Karst, where are you going?" called the first boy.

Without turning around, the girl called back, "To the council meeting, remember, Agatio? We just turned seventeen; do you want to miss the first meeting we're allowed to go to?"

"Well…what's so great about going to a council meeting?" the second grumbled.

"Oh, come on, Garet! It shows that we're old enough for the elders to trust us! Besides, Puelle said this meeting was especially important."

"He always says that…"

Arguing, the three friends made their way across the empty lot and caught up to a blonde woman at the entrance to the hall.

"Hi, Menardi!"

The blonde Mars Adept looked down at her younger sister and her two companions. The three were still young in the eyes of the elders of Prox, but they were energetic and were quickly becoming strong warriors. Menardi's smile faltered. With the way things were going, warriors with fiery spirits and brave hearts would be needed badly very soon.

"Hey." Menardi looked up to see her partner, Saturos, standing behind the three teens. She smiled at him.

"Don't want to be late, do we? Let's get inside."

"Quiet down!" called Puelle, chief warrior of the northern Fire Clan. "Everyone, find a seat and settle down!"

The citizens of Prox, consisting of everyone over seventeen years of age, quickly found seats in the crowded hall. All eyes were trained on Puelle, the red-haired leader of the Mars Clan.

"Thank you for coming today," he began. "This is an important meeting, so I'll get right to the point. Most of you know that five hundred years ago, the power of Alchemy was considered to be a threat to the existence of Weyard. The heart of Alchemy was sealed into Mt. Aleph, the mountain at the heart of the continent of Angara. But the sealing went awry, and Alchemy spread to all corners of the earth. That is why all of you here have Psynergy today; in the past, only about five percent of Weyard's population consisted of Adepts."

Whispers swept through the crowd. Puelle continued, raising his voice above the murmurs, and spoke of the feuds that followed the sealing of Alchemy. Standing in the back of the room, Menardi groaned softly. She had heard this all before. Although she didn't like to read too much, Saturos had talked her into doing some historical research. The records of Prox were old, difficult to read, and very incomplete, but Menardi had forced herself to read a few of them to educate herself.

As Puelle rambled on, answering the foolish questions of the non-Adepts—who would never truly understand the awesome power of Alchemy and Psynergy—Menardi gazed over the crowd of seated Proxans…and snorted in exasperation.

"Oh, honestly. Even after…" For the first time after all these years, Menardi had noticed that the seating appeared to be a bit…segregated. On one side of the room sat the full-blooded Proxans—the men easily identified by their blue or red hair and oddly patterned faces, the women less so, with either red, blue, or even blonde hair, and pink or blue skin. On the other side of the room, with an aisle in the middle, sat the pale-skinned southerners—the Mars Adepts who were descended from the people from the southern continents of Hesperia or Atteka, or even regions as far east as Angara or Gondowan.

You'd think that after over five hundred years, we'd come to some kind of peace, at least. But no, there's still this unconscious need to keep separate, to stay with those of our own color.

Then Menardi smiled fondly to notice that sitting in a row between the two groups were Karst, Agatio, and Garet—representing a bond between the two ethnic groups. Her eyes hardened as she brought her mind back to what Puelle was saying. We'll need more like them if we're ever going to get through this together.

"And so," said Puelle, "the four kingdoms of Weyard have been fighting each other ever since the death of Emperor Babi. You see, each clan is determined that it, and it alone, will reunite Weyard in its entirety and bring peace to the world. That wouldn't be wrong by itself, but for us to fight each other in order to bring about reunification…that will never work.

"It isn't all the fault of the other clans, either. We have been as bad as the others—squabbling about land and fighting over territory. But we're only destroying ourselves.

"And that is why I am proposing to send a small group of Adepts to the other clans, telling them of this. If they are at all reasonably, they will see that squabbling over territory like they are doing is foolish. We must reunite our world through peace, not war!"

A cheer erupted from many throats as Puelle stepped down, finished. But one, a heavily-built man, with the pale skin and fair hair of a southerner from Hesperia, stood up. "But Puelle, what about our plans? We have an army heading south that will be in a position to attack Tolbi in three days!"

Puelle, his face flushing with anger, stood back up again. "Don't you understand? The only way to get the other kingdoms to agree to peace is if we practice what we preach! We have to set an example for them and show them we are above their absurd bickering!"

The hall erupted, each person trying to be heard as the southerner's supporters—all southerners themselves—stormed up to the podium where Puelle stood. "Look, Puelle," said the head of the group, the sturdy man, his voice rising above the clamor, "these high-minded notions of yours just aren't going to cut it. The only way to survive in this world is to fight! If we start acting soft, we'll be overwhelmed by the other kingdoms! We need to stand up for ourselves!"

There was a loud cheer from many of the Proxans. Menardi noted bitterly that most were southerners, though a small group of native Proxans seemed to hold the same opinion.

"But—" began Puelle.

"I don't think you understand us," snarled the leader. "But maybe you'll understand this!" He drew a dagger from his belt and stabbed it into Puelle's unprotected chest.

Sunlight filtered through the windows of the spacious room. A large bed took up most of the space, but even with a desk, a dresser, and a couch, the bedroom wasn't crowded at all.

On the bed, on top of the sheets, a black-clad figure stirred. The sun shone on her face, or what could be seen of it—all but the eyes were covered by a black cloth that wrapped all the way around her head.

The small figure rolled over, stretched, and sat up. She moaned, feeling her head throb. Gingerly, she slid her hand under the scarf that covered her head. There was a large lump on the back of her skull, and when she drew her hand away, it was covered in clotting and sticky blood. Jupiter, that hurts… What happened?

Slowly, brief flashes of memory from the previous night returned to Sheba. She groaned, realizing the trouble she was in…

She glanced quickly around the room. There was no one there…With one last frantic hope, she decided to run for it.

She pushed her aching body off the bed and stood up quickly, then gasped as she put her weight on her injured ankle. She sank back to the bed, her ankle throbbing with pain.

"Oh, you're up!" said a pleasant tenor voice. She heard someone enter the room. With a sudden touch of concern, the voice added, "Here. Let me fix that."

She felt a warmth flow through her entire body. When she put her hand to her head again, there was no blood, no lump. And her ankle was completely healed.

She looked up, startled. A boy—young man, really—stood in front of her. He had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a green tunic. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen. By his side was a sword, a plain one at first glance, but she could see the small device on the hilt: the symbol for a lord of the Venus Clan.

"Who are you?" he asked. He didn't seem angry, just curious. But she knew that would change soon enough, once he found out who she was and what she and Ivan had stolen from him.

There was only one thought running through her mind: I am so dead. She—a spy from the Jupiter Clan—had breached the palace defenses, stolen their battle plans, and had gotten caught.

Sheba had never been a coward, but she knew when she was beaten.

She pulled off the scarf and bent her head, her short hair hanging forward to expose her bare neck. "You can kill me now, my lord."

She waited a few moments. When she didn't hear a blade hissing through the air and didn't feel the cold steel on her neck, she looked up.

"You're… you're a girl!"

Felix stared at the petite girl who was now sitting on his bed. She was built like a spy: slender, agile, and small. She probably wouldn't be much of a fighter. She swept her short blonde hair out of her face and fixed her bright green eyes on him, her emotions unreadable.

"So what if I'm a girl? Did you think that only a boy would be a spy?"

Okay…she was angry. At least she was expressing herself, thought Felix wryly.

"Well…yes."

Suddenly, she grinned. "At least you know to tell the truth around a mind reader."

Whoa...wait a second. A mind reader? As far as Felix knew, Mind Read was not a common Jupiter ability. "You're an Adept?"

"Yeah…I'm Sheba, of the Jupiter clan." There was no point in lying, Sheba decided.

"I'm Felix, an Earth Adept of the Venus Clan."

It was a stupid question to ask, Sheba knew, but she had to know the answer. "Why aren't you going to kill me? I'm your prisoner."

"Why would I kill you?" Felix didn't seem to be angry.

"We…we took those…plans…" Sheba stuttered, blushing. What if he hadn't noticed that anything was missing? She was in for it now…

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly.

"What doesn't matter—the paper?"

He ignored her question. "Come on. We'll find you a room."

"What?"

"I said, we'll find you a room to sleep in. Unless you were planning on sleeping in here."

Sheba turned a bright and vivid red. "I meant…" Then his words sank in. "You mean I'm staying here?"

"Yes." For a moment, he looked almost as if he regretted having to say those words. "There's no way in Weyard that we're going to let you go."

"But why?" A wave of homesickness overwhelmed the young Adept. She would never see them ever again. Ivan…Feizhi…Hama…

"You're a Jupiter Adept, which means you have certain powers that no other Adept has. Whatever powers you possess may assist us in this war. Lady Uzume would never forgive me if I let you go."

With those words, he turned and walked out the door. Rubbing her eyes, which burned and prickled with withheld tears, Sheba followed him.

Jenna stood on the forward deck, watching the sunset. The ship was only two days out of the Karangol Sea, and already she was sick of everything: the salt smell, the attacking gulls, the endless shouted orders…

"Cap'n, there's a cloud on the horizon!"

Jenna stared out at the pink-streaked clouds. They seemed perfectly normal to her. What were the sailors yelling about now?

"Damn!" swore the captain, right behind Jenna. She jumped and turned around. The captain, a short little man who had unusually high levels of Psynergy for someone who wasn't an Adept, was gazing at the horizon, to the left of where Jenna had been looking. Jenna followed his gaze and tried not to follow his choice of language.

A huge black cloud was less than four miles away from the ship, and it was closing on them fast. The pillow of threatening clouds seemed to increase in size as they drew closer.

"Trim the sails! Man the tiller! Someone get down and help Kuja with that Orb!"

Jenna was suddenly standing in the middle of a frenzy of running people, yelling, and the growing sound of thunder. Lightning flashed in the clouds, which Jenna noticed were suddenly right above them. Buckets of rain poured down drenching everyone on deck.

The captain noticed her standing in the middle of the deck as if frozen, and yelled, "Lady Jenna! Get down into your cabin! This is no place for a young lady!"

He was in no mood to be argued with, so Jenna ran for the cabins, dodging sailors as she attempted to keep her balance on the swaying deck. Slamming the door to the common room shut behind her, she leaned against it, thinking. She didn't really want to sit in her cabin during the whole storm. Felix had always teased her about being a "useless girl."

An idea came to her. Jenna glanced around, making sure that no one was coming out of the cabins that opened into the common room. She would prove Felix wrong.

Taking the steps two at a time, Jenna ran down to the room in the ship's hold where the Black Orb was held. Standing by the pedestal that held the gleaming black crystal was a lone man. His hands and the orb both glowed gold as he fought to keep the ship under control in the raging seas.

A particularly large wave crashed into the ship, knocking Jenna to the ground. There was a sickening crack, and she looked up to see that the man had been knocked off balance, slamming his head on the floor. Blood ran in a thin trickle down his forehead.

Wait… If he was basically controlling the ship, and he's knocked out now… "Iris!" Jenna leaped for the pedestal, grabbing it to steady herself against the movement of the ship. She hesistated—she had never actually used a Psynergetic orb before. She had higher levels of Psynergy than anyone on board, but they all had the experience…

Doubt had never stopped Jenna. With a deep breath, she laid her hands on the orb and released her power in a fiery blast of heat that turned the orb bright red.

She was falling…and then it seemed that she fell into the storm-tossed waters and was pitching about helplessly. She was the ship; she felt every wave that hit her sides, every sailor running about frantically on her wooden decks.

The ship-Jenna fought against the fury of the storm. At last, she seemed to have righted herself. The waters were calming now, and the lightning was less frequent.

In the hold of the ship, Jenna breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly. The storm was over.

"Look ou—" came a cry from the deck above.

With a rending crash, the ship struck rock. Jenna was thrown forward. Unable to catch herself, her head smacked against the stone pedestal and everything went black.

Meh… That scene with Felix and Sheba was really hard to write…

Felix: Isaac…Puelle…Sheba…Jenna… You're so cruel!

Mehehe… That's the job of an author!

Anyway, I'll be off on vacation seeing my relatives (of whom there are way too many). So, I won't update this for a long while…unless my grandparents let me use their laptop (how come they get a laptop and I don't? I mean, they don't even use it because they are technologically challenged!).

Anyway, review, or all the characters will die…