Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. However, I do ownall characters that may or may not appear in this fanfic (j/k)
(A/N): Told you it was gonna be fast.
Anyway,like I said this is nowhere near completion. And there goes my reputation. I'm working on something new, something that I haven't seen in the sixty-something pages of fanfics. I think it's gonna be hilarious. If (and only if) it's format it's allowed by this site. I've got plenty of options though.
This episode and the one before it were part of a single episode. It broke it in two, then added a few more things to each one. I have to say I like them better this way. And that's it.
Here it goes:
Episode 14: Shinryu.
"It's kinda strange, really. Usually I can sleep all day. No one ever comes to this city. Save for the trading season, when the caravans come from everywhere, No one comes to the city. And yet two groups have come to Dragon's Den. One came a few hours ago. A young man and a little girl. They came to see the king, since they were 'djinnhunters' . Hardly a title if you ask me. She tripped from the hill and fell all the way down here. And they're supposed to be 'mighty and great warriors'. Pah. And now, the guys at the towers tell me that three others are coming. And one of them is a werewolf. A werewolf! I haven't seen one them since the first days of this age. Right now, those three are looking at the city from the Hill. A blonde guy, A black haired man, and this little werewolf. He seems like a teenager".
"Maybe something's happening in the outside world. Nah. King Shinryu would have told us already".
"May I have your names, please?".
"My name is Leng. I'm a djinn hunter, and messenger from King Raniel of Vale. This is Max, another Djinn hunter. He comes from the Suhalla Range. And this is Bril, from Air's Rock in Osenia".
"Another Messenger from Vale?" said the Guard "What are you having a war or something?"
"Wait" said Leng "Another?"
"Yeah. A red haired man and some girl came a few hours ago, saying that they were messengers from King Raniel of Vale."
"That has to be Joe!" said Leng.
"It has to be!" said Max "I knew the little guy wasn't dead!"
"Well, I don't know about that" said the guard, "I suppose you want to see the King, right?"
"Yes" said Leng "We have to see the King"
"Wait a minute"
The other guard gave him the blackboard again. He wrote something in it. When He finished, the words vanished. Then, a few minutes later, they reappeared. The hand writing was different.
" All right" He said "This Joe, He is meeting with the King tomorrow at sunrise. You will meet the King with him".
"Thank you" said Leng.
"Don't mention it" said the guard. Then He gave the orders to open the gate.
"Now come in" He said "Keep out of trouble".
Leng and Max had already seen the only city of the Dragon Tribe. Bril, on the other hand, was very excited to see this huge city with fires everywhere, and the palace in a nearby Hill, towering over the highest buildings of the city.
"This is very impressive" He said "I hate to admit it, but my home city of Lupes is nothing compared to this".
They had arrived almost at sunset, but the city never slept. There were merchants, taverns, restaurants, weapon and armor shops...
"We need to find an Inn" said Leng. "I happen to know a good one, and the owner is an old friend of mine. It's little expensive, but the food is excellent".
Suddenly, the saw a man pushing a giant block of ice out of his tavern. Several drunkards were inside, frozen.
"What the...?" said Max.
"Is that common around here?" said Bril.
"No, it's not" said Leng still looking at the block, "Anyway, follow me".
They followed him around the city until they saw the Inn. A three story building, located very near the path going towards the Palace.
"The flying dragon" said Leng "Come on. Let's check in".
Bril felt that He had barely put the head on his pillow when He felt the whole bed trembling. He woke up with a start, and fell on the floor.
"Wake up, Sleepy head!" said Max "It's almost time. We'll wait for you downstairs".
Ten minutes later He was on the gate with his friends. But then He saw someone heading towards them. A red haired man with red eyes, too, and a cute blue haired girl, who was quite short. She had clear eyes, and she was wearing blue robes. Apparently, she hadn't slept very much.
"Hey, Joe!" said Leng, patting his shoulders" How are you, dear friend?"
"It's good to see you again" said Joe, calmly "How did you survive?"
"You don't seem too happy to see us, Joe" said Max "And who's this young lady?".
"I'm Lise" She said, proudly "I'm a djinn hunter like Joe"
"You mean like us" said Leng "But we haven't introduced our friend, Bril"
"I'm Bril, from the werewolf tribe" He said blushing "Glad to meet you".
"Glad to meet you too, Bril" said Lise. He blushed even more.
"Well, about the ship" said Max "what happened to you?"
"I was blown away, remember?" said Joe." I saw part of the mast and I.."
"Gentlemen, this way".
They turned around to see a guard in the gate. He opened it, and gave them some bracelets. They put it on, to realize that their Psynergy had been blocked.
"Standard procedure" He said, and began to walk. They followed him. Joe followed his story as they walked.
The road to the palace was mostly made of stairs with several landings. It was full of a bright red dust, which turned out to be pulverized rubies. It was very beatiful, seeing the many fires of the city and palace reflected in the road. Several statues were placed along the road. They represented fierce, natural sized dragons, with rubies instead of eyes. Bril thought that the Dragon Tribe really liked rubies.
Finally, they reached the palace. It was made of blocks of pure onyx, with many windows and towers. Several guards were already on the front gate, ready to lead them to the King's chambers. They followed.
The interior of the castle was still black, although many fires everywhere gave a them a dim light, and a relaxing warmth. Finally, after many more stairs (Max thought that Shinryu's hall was on the top floor, and He was right), they reached a gate. And inside, a great hall.
It was well lit, with many small windows lining in the walls. There were many statues all around them. And in the back, a great throne. Sitting in it was an old man. He had red, and very long hair, and black eyes that, strangely, didn't reflected any light. He was tall and muscular, even for a dragon, and was wearing the royal crown and cape over his Orihalcon armor, and a great sword was hanging from his belt. He was Shinryu. The oldest and wisest of all beings. They could feel his great power, and even from that distance, he seemed to irradiate an aura of majesty like no other.
As the guards called their names, the five travelers bowed down before him. They could feel his gaze, piercing and cold.
"Leave us" He said. The guards left and closed the doors, locking them from outside. They were trapped.
"Arise, young travelers" His voice was deep and rough, yet somehow relaxing. Bril shivered each time the king looked at him in the eye.
"I hear that you are messengers from King Raniel" He said "Please, speak".
"O, Great and Mighty King Shinryu, Leader of the Dragon Tribe!" said Leng (who was in fact the only messenger from King Raniel) " I am Leng, messenger of King Raniel, from the Kingdom of the Golden Valley. His message is simple: Tell King Shinryu to remember the old alliances and help us against the threat of the Elder Tribe. The Demons have appeared again in Weyard".
"Hah. King Raniel's powers have grown weak" He said, turning away from them "I realized that they had returned the moment that they entered this realm".
Nobody dared to say anything.
"Young Bril, do you remember when did the demons appeared on your city?"
Bril shuddered.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty" He said "It was before the first day of summer, according to our calendars"
"Exactly. That would mean two months. Am I right, Lise?".
"Yes, your majesty" she said. Shinryu seemed to enjoy this. He knew (with a single glance) that these two were the weakest and youngest members of the group. And He also knew that they were afraid of him.
"I have already sent a few spies, including my own son, to the remaining three tribes" He smiled. "Word has reached my ears of those demons, and their three generals. Demons can take many different forms. They are fond of destroying everything that lives. And they desire, more than anything else, those creatures that you call 'Djinn' You're djinn hunters aren't you?"
"Yes, your Majesty" they said in unison.
"Do you know why are they looking for them?"
"No, your majesty" said Leng "But King Raniel told me that you might have the answer".
"And indeed, I do" He said.
He sat in his throne, and sighed deeply, as if searching within his oldest memories.
"Have you heard the rumors about me?" He asked, looking at Lise.
"Yes, your majesty" she said. And then she added "you mean those concerning your age?"
King Shinryu's gaze suddenly hardened. Joe, who was standing next to her, hit her with his elbow.
"Yes, those" said Shinryu "I see that you've heard of them".
Lise sighed quietly. For one second there, she thought that she was done for...
"I am" He said "ten thousand seven hundred and thirty four years old, young lady. And yes, the rumors are true".
"I remember the world when the four tribes ruled over everything. It was a golden age for us. And yet, we were hungry for more. I was the prince back then. My father waged war against the other tribes for centuries. The world was crumbling with the might of our battles, and yet we weren't satisfied. Then one night, I remember it very well, a visitor came".
"He was a Demon, although we didn't knew that they existed back then. He was hooded and cloaked, and asked to speak only to my father, the King. I was at the entrance then. The soldiers refused and tried to attack him. They were dead in an instant. More came, and yet He finished them all. At last, orders came from my father. I was to guide him to this very hall".
"When He entered, He bowed before my father, but I knew that He wasn't trustworthy. My father asked him to take off his hood and cloak. He revealed himself to be a headless knight. He had a black sword. And with his words I felt very uneasy. His proposal was this: They'd join their powers with ours, if we sacrificed the divine gift of nature. My father agreed after just a few minutes. And He drank of a dark bottle that the knight gave him".
"Afterwards, we were all cursed. Our strength had increased, yes, But they had tricked the four tribes. We lost the ability to summon the forces of nature, that power that you call 'Psynergy'. And then, a huge army of Demons settled on Tundaria".
"Those Demons attacked us. And we were powerless against them, as our great strength came from them. But (And Shinryu's face softened when He said this) they had left men out of their plans. They considered you weak and defenseless, and they were right. Your race was weak and defenseless back then. But the Gods took advantage of this. After another day of hopeless battle, we saw a great Golden Light, shining towards the North. It was what you call the 'Golden Sun'. And then huge towers came down from the sky, each possessing the concentrated power of an element into their light".
"We all heard this words, echoing in our heads:
The demons are strong
their powers have grown;
but Men shall go forth
The adepts have come
To the south there is darkness.
To the north, there is light.
The tribes face true madness;
Men have come, they will fight.
"And then, we saw a great army coming from the north. The first Adepts. They had the powers that we had lost, and their powers were pure. With our help, they defeated the demons, and sealed the forbidden gate".
"Our powers returned" He said, with some sadness in his eyes "but they have been weakening through generations. Our people have lost that spark and we'll never find it again. My people will someday exist no more. If only I could do something about it...".
"They told us that the Gods had offered them the power to protect Weyard, a power that came from the Gods themselves. And most agreed. Those that didn't wanted to risk their lives for Weyard joined together in Hesperia. They call themselves 'The Shaman Tribe'.
"But there's more. The gods sent their servants to live among us, so we could call them when we needed their aid. Those are the djinn, and they are the pure embodiment of their respective element. 'Elementals' we called them. They add their divine powers to your own. Do you understand now why do these demons desire the djinn?"
"Light and Darkness. This two forces have been fighting since before Weyard was created. There cannot be darkness without light, and there cannot be light without darknesss. They have been opposing each other since the begginings of time, and will continue to do so until the end. But remember. They are not elements. Light is made of the four elements. As of darkness, nobody knows".
"But" He said, standing up "What if one of these forces were to add the other's strength into it's own?"
Suddenly, they understood. And quite clearly. The demons were looking for the djinn to force them to add their powers to the darkness. If the Djinni added the power of the Gods to the power of the Demons, then they would win their eternal battle against the gods.
The odds were not very promising. Joe had six djinni. Leng and Max had five each. And Lise had four. Twenty Djinn. There were still fifty two djinns out there. And the Demons were looking for them.
"Now you see how close we are to our complete destruction" said Shinryu "And not only ours, but of the whole universe".
They nodded. But what could they do against these demons?
"As I said, I sent spies to the remaining tribes. And they said that the Demons have not found a single Djinn. Not one of them. Apparently, when the Demons appeared at the south, all of the Djinn left to the North. That's why you have found some of them so easily" He said looking at Joe. Joe thought that He knew about his sixth djinni, and how he had found it. But how could He know?
"It's customary that Kings and land lords give presents to warriors that depart on a difficult mission. The only thing that I can give you is this".
He reached behind his throne, and grabbed a huge box. He opened it to find a large shield, with all kinds of colored gems covering it's surface.
"There is one Mars Djinni here, three Jupiter, two Mercury and two Venus. I give them to you. But you better stay out of trouble, many of my men sacrificed their lives to bring these treasures to me".
He put the shield in the box again, and gave it to Leng, who bowed again.
"Now leave. And don't come back".
Suddenly another man entered. He seemed exhausted, and He was full of Scars and bruises.
"There' something out there, my lord!" He said "The Monsters that inhabit Southern Gondowan are marching towards this Dragon's Den!"
"I was expecting it" said Shinryu. "Their powers are growing. Go and raise the alarm. Every member of the Army must be ready to march to war tomorrow at sunrise".
"Yes, My lord" and He left.
"You have nothing to do in this war" He said "And yet I can feel your desire to battle. Will you join us?"
"Yes, your majesty" said Leng "We will".
"Good" He said "You can sleep in the palace. We will leave tomorrow at first light".
That night, they saw the great army of Dragoons for the first time in this age. They wore red armors, and great swords. A few of them preferred Axes. They were well organized and were ready to leave that very night. Thousands of Dragoons were going to the war.
"But I don't want to battle! How could you decide such a thing for us?"
Lise was no warrior. They knew that. She didn't belong in a battlefield, no matter how powerful she was.
"Listen" said Leng "That was not a question. He wanted us to be there. What do you think would have happened had I refused?"
"Besides" said Max "You have no option. Either you fight now, or later. But if you don't help us now, this world will probably end".
"I know how you feel" said Bril "But it's not like we had any choice".
"What if we get killed out there!" She cried "Don't you fear death?"
"No, I don't" said Joe. She blinked a few times.
Lise was a young woman with a strong heart. She was brave, but at her young age, fighting in a war was the last thing she could have wanted. Her mind was rebelling, but her heart was struggling against reason. "I have to fight" she thought "Even if I lose my life, I won't regret it". She slept with that thought in her mind.
Morning came quickly, and the dragons had formed lines and were ready to march at any time. King Shinryu went to the front lines to check on the conditions of the army. Ten thousand dragoons were ready at any time. Joe and the others were among them.
"Come, messengers from Vale!" said Shinryu. They hurried to his side.
"There's something I want to tell you before we leave". He said "You won't be able to follow us once we take off".
"Take off?" said Lise. Shinryu raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, young lady. Take off. But I have made an arragement with some of my strongest soldiers".
Five tall dragoons made a line in front of their king, bowing down before him.
"Arise, my loyal soldiers!" He said "This is your mission: these people to the battle, and drop them as close as possible to the enemy lines. Understood?".
"Yes, your majesty" they said. Shinryu left. He needed to direct his people.
"I see you will be using your sword soon, eh?"
Joe recognized the voice. It was Varla!. He was one of the soldiers.
"Now!" shouted Shinryu "Let's go, my people. To war!".
That was a sight that they would always remember in their hearts. All around them, the soldiers began to change. Their eyes turned a light orange. Then their bodies began to grow scales, and they turned different colors, most were red, but others were gold, or even purple. They grew to great sizes, as their faces transformed into their dragon appearance. Their teeth and their claws grew, and they began to grow wings, which were bat-like and had little claws. And then, when everybody had turned into a dragon, they took off. Their roars filled the air, and the flew towards the southern skies.