Chapter III: 'We Need More Eco!'
LES: The last chapter was the end of the child flashback. Now Saphira is around 18 or 19. Jak, as a King and a Father, is weird to write for. He has to act all fatherly and noble, but he does still carry his Dark Side. Oh, in case you were wondering about 'The Room' in the first Chapter, that's Jak's 'Venting Room' He gets mad, loses control, goes in there, and 'vents' the Dark Eco. That's left over from when the story was headed a different direction. Now it just seems like a waste of space. Anyway, on with the story…
"Princess!" a voice called from outside my door. I sighed. I never got a moment's peace anymore…
"What is it?" I asked.
"You are required to go to the meeting today, Princess." I opened up my door and there stood one of my servants, Sarah. A really nice girl, but formal to a fault.
"Please," I said, "Call me Saphira."
Sarah looked absolutely horrified; as if I had said some disgusting swear word. "Oh no, Your Majesty!" she gasped.
"Okay, I'm coming." I said before she could scold me on the importance of titles. Who knew she would have the courage to scold ME! The only people who scolded me were my parents. Never the less, I headed towards the Throne Room where the meeting would be taking place. Seemed my life turned into one big meeting. As I walked in I saw that Father, Mother, most of the advisors, and Governors were there already. I quietly took my place at the foot of the large Throne.
"Well," One of the Governors said coldly, "Now that everyone is here, shall we get started?"
One man who was in charge of the City's Eco supply, an unpleasant man named Chycio (pronounced 'Phycio' Hahaha) stood up. "Your Majesties, we have a problem." He turned on a large holographic projector that showed several graphs. "What you see here is the Eco output form the Strip Mine. Up until last week it has functioned normally. Then, quite suddenly, it stopped! I sent a team out there to check the machinery, but there was nothing wrong with it. That could only mean one thing… the Eco at the Strip Mine must've dried up!" This statement was met with many gasps. The Strip Mine was the source for 90 of our Eco! Eco power keeps the shield up and the City running. If we ever ran out of Eco, the shield would drop then the Metal-Heads could easily attack and destroy our City. In short… we had a problem. "Thankfully, the City has enough Eco to last for months."
"I don't see how months could be a good thing…" Father said.
"Of coarse, months are not good, your Highness." Chycio said. "But we started scanning the surrounding area for a new source of Eco."
"One was found?"
"Yes." Chycio said. "This place, when we tested it, we found an enormous amount of Eco. We believe, that if we harvested this Eco, that Haven City would never have to worry about Eco again!" This statement was met with much excitement. Father didn't look too sure.
"If this is such an abundant source of Eco, why didn't we use it before?" he asked.
"A stupid superstition, Your Majesty." Chycio said.
"What superstition?" Father asked.
"The Legend of Gol and Maia, Sire." Chycio answered. Most people didn't have a reaction. But Father's eyes widened, Mother gasped, Uncle Daxter let out a loud cough, and Grandfather dropped his staff. Father regained himself.
"The Silos?" he asked.
"Yes, 'The Silos' That's what they are called in the Legend." Chycio said, and then he paused. "You are familiar with the Gol and Maia Legend, Your Highness?"
"Fairly." Father answered. "You are not to open those Silos!"
"Your Majesty! Surely you don't believe in this foolish, made-up Legend?" Chycio seemed outraged.
"Don't question me." Father said in his 'dangerous' tone. "Opening those Silos could unleash horrors beyond our deepest nightmares. You said yourself, we have several months worth of Eco. We will find an alternate source..."
Chycio looked like he was about to argue, but he stopped himself. He bowed and said the required response, "Thank you, Your Majesties." But I could tell he didn't mean it. He sat down.
"Now…" Father said slowly, "On to business…"
(Later)
After the meeting, I sat, wondering about this 'Gol and Maia Legend' and Father's reaction. I have never known him as a superstitious type and have never seen him blow off a plan based on some legend. That afternoon I went to the Royal Library to see if I could find this Legend. The Royal Librarian greeted me.
"Princess Saphira," she said, bowing deeply. "What can I do for you?"
"I would like to find a legend. The Legend of Gol and Maia to be exact." I said.
"But that's such a dreadfully OLD legend, older than Haven City!" Nonetheless, she headed towards the back of the Library towards where she kept the really old books. She came back with a small volume. "Be careful with that, your Highness, that book is older than Haven City!"
I looked at the book. It was amazing to think I was holding a book that was older than Haven City. "Don't worry, I'll be careful with it." I promised as I headed back up to my large room. I shut the door, and sat at the desk. I looked though the book and found the Gol and Maia Legend. I brought the book closer to my face and read:
"A long time ago, there lived a man by the name of Gol, and his sister, Maia. Gol always had an interest in Ecos, with Dark being the most fascinating. Ignoring the warning of the other Sages, Gol and his sister Maia began studying and experimenting with the Dark Eco.
It is not known if Gol and Maia were insane before or if they became insane due to the prolonged exposure to the Dark Eco, but the important thing is that they went insane. They joined forces with the Lurker army and began to work to open 'The Silos,' mythical buildings said to be the gateway to the vast stores of Dark Eco that are hidden underground. Using Precursor artifacts, they managed to construct a Precursor Robot, the one thing capable of opening the Silos and releasing the Dark Eco.
However, at the last moment, a hero known only as 'The Pure Light' risked his own life to stop the evil siblings. The hero did a great job of weakening the Robot, but he had no way to destroy it. It is said, however, that he got the help of the remaining Sages and managed to create a legendary substance known as 'Light Eco.' Once channeling this mythical substance, he easily destroyed the Robot. The intact head of the Robot, containing Gol and Maia, fell into the Dark Eco, the Silo doors shut, and they were doomed to be locked in forever.
Most people believe that Gol and Maia died in the Eco, but others believe that they lived. And more say that they are still down there, waiting for someone to foolishly open the Silos. If they were ever released, they would go after the person who imprisoned them, or his decedents. However, 'The Pure Light' disappeared not long after these events and soon before the Metal-Heads invaded our world. His whereabouts are currently unknown."
I looked up from the book. "Pretty cool legend." I said. "But that's all it is… a legend." I put the book down. "Everyone knows Light Eco doesn't exist."
LES: I know what you are thinking: 'Damn it, LES! Not another 'Gol and Maia Returns' fic!" But this one is different from the others, and it's really good. I've done everything in my power to make it different from everyone else's. Please R&R. No flames please. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Remember, if I keep making a mistake, tell me about it, and I'll fix it… unless I have a good reason for it. Oh, I just want to saw… just found this out. Guess who plays 'Tip' the cowardly penguin from 'The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea'? ::waits:: It's Max Casella!!!!! You know, the guy who plays Daxter!!!!! Tip even acts like Daxter to a certain extent. Max actually SINGS in the movie. Imagine Dax SINGING!! HAHAHA!!! Okay, that was an insanely long A/N. I'll update soon. Promise.
