Hey, I updated. It's been what, 3 weeks now? It seems that Saturos isn't doing his job as well as I thought.
Saturos: Well, I've been reading the latest 'Fire and more fire' magazine,and I was playing the game to see what happened after they kicked me out.
Me: Wait, they kicked you out?
Saturos: Yeah, big fight with the director. Awful stuff.
Me: Whatever.
University is a pain in the A$$. Don't expect many updates. Now let's answer the reviews!
Master of Reality: Thanks! And thanks for helping me with this one. Here, have a giant cookie!
GoldenSunGeek: Thank you.Sit no more my friend! The update is here!
Merklin: Thanks for reviewing. I think that somebody mentioned that Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury were all goddesses in this game. As Kraden would say, I'll have to research further into this matter..
Saturos: Spacejoe doesn't own Golden Sun in any way, form or any other legal word that I can and/or may forget.
Episode 18: Izumo.
Three days after the battle of Lalivero...
Max woke up with a start. The flying ship was a comfortable ride, made with great care by the Anemos. The bedrooms were all just below deck, with the kitchen and bathroom right near the stairs. Further down (on the bottom part of the ship), the core of the ship, the one piece that made it move: a giant hover jade. The Anemos made these just for fun, as they could fly just by focusing their psynergy, but actually the rest of the world found them incredibly useful, as proven by the fact that this ship could fly using it's powers.
But if Max had to choose something that he was uncomfortable with, He was sure it'd be the thin walls. He had been sleeping very peacefully until the sound of teenagers fighting and screaming on deck.
"Kids these days..." He thought. He got dressed and headed for the deck.
But when He got there, instead of the usual conversation, he found Lise and Bril arguing over something that, judging by their reactions, was of the utmost importance.
"That's just unfair! Who died and made you the leader?" said Bril.
"All I'm saying is that it must have one! All ships have a name, is this one can't be different!" said Lise.
Max smiled at the thought. A name for the ship? But then again, why not?
"What do you say Leng? Joe? Do you think 'The sapphire' is a nice name? It doesn't even make sense! We don't even have sapphires onboard!"
Leng and Joe were playing chess on deck. Leng had a worried look on his face. Max sat nearby. He noticed that they were playing while using psynergy to move the ship. Quite a feat, but maybe that was part of the challenge. He inmediatly focused his power on the wheel as well, helping them out.
"Thanks Max" said Leng. Then He turned around to Bril. "I don't know kids. Maybe you should ask Varla. Check".
Joe frowned and made his move without even paying attention to Bril's question.
"Varla! Varla!"
But Varla, who was forging yet another sword (The ship's cargo was full of them) had no answer.
"I say we call it 'The djinni'" said Bril "After all, We are looking for the djinni, right?"
"The djinni?. But that doesnt't make any sense!" said Lise.
"At least it means something! Where's that sapphire? I don't see any sapphire around here."
"Now that's silly" She answered "Is there a morning star on the Morning Star? Nope. It has that name because it's beatiful and sounds cool. So why can't this ship have a beatiful name too?"
"If you want a cool name, maybe you should call it 'The Werewolf ' After all, Werewolves are cool".
"You just say that because you're a werewolf! And for your information, there are more adepts than werewolves here."
"All right kids, that's enough" said Max "The ship won't have a name until we all agree on one. I guess we should vote for a name"
"Maybe we can make a list of names for the ship" said Varla. He tried a few moves with his new creation. It was perfectly balanced, as usual.
"That's a sound plan, Varla!" said Bril "From there we take those which we most like, until at last we all agree on one name!"
"Guess that's for the best" said Lise "What do you think Joe? Do you like the idea?"
Joe said nothing. Instead, He moved his queen a few spaces forward, until placing it in a straight line from the King.
"Check".
Leng frowned. He couldn't mind read his enemy now, making this a contest of intelligence, rather than skill. He decided for a risky move, and moved his knight to block the queen's move.
"Remember Joe" He said "In chess you need to think ahead. There's nothing you can do against me".
Lise and Bril eventually began to lose interest in their discussion and decided to watch the game. Joe moved his own knight, placing it near Leng's own, and ready to strike.
"Shouldn't you be practicing with your sword, Lise?" he said. The girl jumped out of their way and inmediately asked Varla for permission to use his. The old dragoon handed over the sword, and sat near them, while Lise began to hack and slash all around deck, following a simple routine. This time, however, her moves were noticeably faster, stronger, and more precise.
"Good! Keep at it!" said Max. Lise waved over and continued her practice. Bril decided to be her sparring opponent. But once they left, the old dragoon's face darkened.
"We have been travelling against the wind for three days" He said "The demons are trying to keep us from reaching Izumo".
"The forces of Vale and Serland must have reached Altin by now. From there, and if King Atlas's message arives on time, they will probably turn Southeast, and to our aid" said Leng.
"Once we reach Izumo, however, we could find nothing but enemies" said Max.
"Nevertheless, we must find Shinryu's son. He's the only one able to reclaim the throne of the Dragons" said Varla.
"We must look for King Astart too" said Joe "The werebears will only join us if their king is alive and well".
"He'll probably find us first, if he's still alive" said Leng "For now, we can only hope".
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Izumo, the land of the werebears, was a beatiful place. According to those who had visited it, it was the most beatiful city on Weyard, next only to Vale, the land of the Golden Sun. The werebears, a shamanistic race, lived along with nature, and not destroying it. Their city was built in a valley surrounded by forests, but with so much care that the trees and plants seemed to enjoy covering the entire city with their branches and leaves, rather than growing away from it. However, what the group saw now, on board of their flying ship, was only destruction, with fires burning everywhere and the few houses left were covered in blood and ashes.
"This is terrible" said Lise "We need to find two people amidst this destruction?"
"It's not like we have a choice" said Bril.
"We'll split up" said Joe "Bril, Lise and Varla head south. The rest, follow me."
"Ok, boss." said Max, smirking "By the way, that was a sarcastic remark if you didn't get it."
The ship began to lose altitude, descending slowly until they landed in what looked like a plaza, half-way up the mountain. There was no sign of life in the city.
"I smell something" said Bril.
""You're not the only one" said Max, covering his nose "This horrid smell... Where does it come from?"
"Yuck" said Lise. Privately, all of them agreed with the blue-haired girl.
"Be on your guard" said Varla "In this place, we have no allies for now. Trust nobody. If you come upon an enemy, send some sparks, and we'll be there inmediately. We'll meet here in two hours."
The teams parted ways, oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them. Inmediately, a shadow jumped out from nearby and followed them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
As Bril and the others walked down a rocky hill, into some sort of valley, they saw traces of the old Izumo civilization. Buildings, walkways and other traces of the city popped in the way suddenly. Ashes everywhere, and some sort of green stain covered everything. They turned left, further down the valley, and saw a great building, possibly a palace or mansion.
"We'll head that way" said Varla "If there are any survivors, they'll look for refuge in there."
"I don't expect to find anyone here" said Bril.
"Come on, quickly" said Lise "I hate this place. It's too quiet."
Indeed, the only sound they could hear since getting off the ship was the wind rustling through the fields, lifting ashes and dust of the ground. Little fires all around the city gave the place an even more ominous look.
But when they entered the ruined building, they saw that they had been right, a couple of hours ago. A dead body was lying on the doorstep, with a great hall just behind it. The body was sitting with it's arms hugging it's legs, and it's face resting on the knees. It had a spear to the side, and a sword in it's hands. The werebear probably died expecting an enemy. Scratches on it's face and arms indicated a recent battle, but it's face had a greenish hue, and probably died from poisoning.
"Ugh. It stinks as if it were already rotten" said Lise. But surprisingly the body was indeed rottening, it's stomach and chest were full of worms, and some organs had that curious greenish hue.
"This sickness was not caused by anything from this world" said Varla " Only a demon could create such a strong poison".
"You're right, old master"
They turned around to see a man standing on the center of the hall. He wore green robes, an emerald colored cape, and a black mask that covered his eyes, revealing only part of his pale features. He had long blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail at his waist, and He had a golden staff in his hands, which ended in a figure resembling the moon. Black gloves with green borders hid his hands.
The man grinned. "This soldier was guarding his master's chamber. Of course, to reach his master, I had to...ooohhh, let's say...'dispose' of him".
"'Really?" said Varla " 'Dispose of him'. And leave him here to rot, right?"
"Of course, old master. But I shall say on his defense, that he was indeed a mighty warrior. Just like the rest of them"
Bril's patience snapped at this point. The mighty werebears. Their natural enemies. Their entire civilization destroyed only with this demon's might? He was surely lying.
"I don't believe you. You couldn't have destroyed the whole city all by yourself." He said. The demon smirked at this remark.
"I never said that I did." Was the answer. Bril's eyes were gleaming with fury.
"I'll avenge those honorable people. You will die here."
"And He'll not be alone" said Lise, readying her staff "You'll pay for this."
"Prepare to be banished to the underworld, where you belong" said Varla, focusing his powers in a fireball.
The demon just glanced at the trio of fighters, measuring their strengths. "The werewolf is weaker than the others" He thought, and readied his staff for a probable charge from the young cub. Bril readied a Tornado spell, while Lise focused her powers on a Hail Prism attack, and Varla readied another fireball in his left hand. The werewolf glared at his enemy, measuring their chances of success. The demon, on the other hand, took a step forward.
"Prepare to die!"
xxxxxxxxx
"Now, that's a huge palace they got here" said Max as they approached the castle that loomed ominously on the top of the hill. An evil aura was felt all around them. Yellow fires were seen dancing on the chasms and over rocks, and when they reached the doorbell, a foul smell greeted their noses. Various bodies were scattered all over the place. Most were decapitated. Others were missing an arm, or a leg. Others had been split in two. All of the corpses had a terrified look in their faces, which, coupled with the blood on the floor and the nauseating smell, completed the tetric scene.
"This is horrible" said Leng.
"These wounds..." said Joe, after checking one of them "It's safe to say that whatever did this had enormous strength, as these people were cut by a single slash. And there are burns in the wounds, as if the weapon was on fire. This was definitely the work of another demonic assassin. We must be on our guard."
"Wow" said Max "That's gotta be the first time I hear you talking so much. Are you scared?"
Joe said nothing, and unsheated his Burning sword, which glowed slightly in the dark. Max and Leng readied their weapons. The Evil mace seemed to enjoy the massacre. It resonated as if laughing at the dead bodies, and the Swift sword sparkled with a slight shade of blue.
They walked through a dimly lit hallway, and reached an spiral staircase. Going up, they saw that the massacre had continued up here, and followed through the corridors in the second floor. A red carpet indicated the path to the main chamber, King Astart's throne room.
"God... this is horrible" said Leng. Indeed, the wounds and the dead bodies were so abundant now that it was difficult to walk without tripping on a werebear's head, or torso, or without stepping on somebody's limps. The walls were completely stained with blood. And finally, in the main chamber, the three djinn hunters met the one responsible for all this massacre.
It was certainly a demon. A hooded and cloaked figure, about nine feet tall, except for the fact that it was hovering a feet or two above the ground. It had a scythe with the handle made of bones, and a sharp blade on it's end, which was surrounded by a green fire. A strange uneasiness overcame the three of them as they approached the figure, who was still turned around. It reminded them of the demon who attacked Serland, only more powerful, and deadlier.
"Indeed, deadlier is the word" It said, reading their thoughts "He was my son, and Hewas very dear to me, and probably some of my powers were passed on to him when we reached this world. Although... I've been here since the beggining and I will be the last one to leave. My name? Your friend over there can guess it..."
"It's Death" said Leng horrified. Death. The reaper of souls. What was He doing in such a place?
"I'm under the orders of our Lord. I'm here to take King Astart to the realm where everyone goes..."
"Not yet" said Joe "King Astart's time has not come yet." But as He said this, the dark and foreboding feeling filled his words with fear. A fear that Max and Leng could also feel.
"Fear... Your entire body reeks of it. You're pathetic. Weak. And yet, your time has not come. King Astart was wise to leave this place before I came" And when He said this, Death turned around and they saw that it's body was nothing more than a skeleton, but green flames seemed to surround him, and He had green fires instead of eyes. Death had a small clock in his hands, but it suddenly dissapeared in a green flame.
"We won't let you leave this place" said Leng. "Not after all that you've done.."
"We don't care who you are, or why are you here. You won't make it out of here." said Max.
"And just what are you going to do? Fight me?"
"Yes" said Joe, readying his sword. "We will fight you. And defeat you. You do not belong in this realm."
"Hah, this I don't believe..!" said the demon. "But, sadly, I won't fill my hands with your filthy innards today" said the Demon, raising his arm. A green light appeared on his bony finger, and shot out to the skies. Then several green flames started to appear over the bodies of the dead werebears. Death laughed with diabolical satisfaction upon seeing the faces of the three djinn hunters, as the bodies were coming to life again, returning as zombies. Mindless monsters, with strength enough to punch a hole through the walls of this palace.
"I'll see you some other day, if you can escape. Now, I take my leave." And with that, the demon dissapeared in a roaring green flame.
"We have to get out of here, and fast!" said Max. The werebears were coming from every possible way. Suddenly, one of them leaped and created a huge spire above them, and launched it with all of his strength. Joe realized it just in time to take a ruby from his bracelet.
"Flash!" He cried. The power of the djinni blocked the attack, and also blocked those from every other werebear in the room.
"On my mark..." said Leng. Joe and Max prepared their powers. And as soon as the barrier dissapeared, Leng's blade let out a howl, and Leng dissapeared from sight. All that Joe and Max could see was the werebears closest to them falling down, struck by an invisible blade. Then, among the roars and growls of the zombies, a path appeared towards the door. Leng appeared near it, decapitating another zombie. But Joe and Max had no time to waste.
"Inferno!"
"Quake Sphere!"
The zombies that were not knocked down by Max's spell wereturned to ashesby Joe's attack. The path was free, and they ran for it. But outside was no different, as the bodies of every single werebear slain by death was now a mindless monster, whose only mission was to feast on their entrails. They had to escape, but all the exits were blocked. Werebears were extremely strong creatures, and the fact that these were zombie werebears wasn't helping. Then, an idea came to Joe's mind. a dangerous idea, but it was their only choice...
"I have an idea, but we need to find an empty room" He said, but his voice was almost inaudible amidst the sound of swords clashing and the roaring of the zombies..
"Well, good luck with that" said Max, casting another earthquake, which bought them some time.
"We must go to the lower levels" said Joe "it's our only chance". And He was probably right, as they were being overwhelmed by the huge amount of zombies.
"All right" said Leng "Whatever it is, it's better than this. Follow me!". And He grabbed his necklace, preaparing to unleash the power of another djinni.
"Gust!" The djinni appeared and sent out a gust of air towards the staircase, blowing away the zombies that were coming up. They wasted no time running downstairs, with the zombies close behind.
The staircase lead them to the central hall, which was overrun.There was no hope of escaping through there. They turned around and ran towards a little door on the left, which lead them to the dining room. Max and Leng dragged a giant table to block the door, only to find the werebears tearing it apart. Joe lead them through a steel door, which went underground and to the basement. Another steel door and they found the cellar. They went in and locked the door, making a barricade with the barrels.
"So, what's the big plan?" said Max. For an answer, Joe took 3 rubies out of his bracelet and whispered something. The rubies sparkled for a second and then their light dissapeared. Leng understood.
"Have you gone mad? Do you really want to die that badly?"
"No" said Joe. "All I need is someone to cover me after I finish. That will be your job."
"You're not going to use one of the forbidden summons, are you?" said Max. Joe nodded.
"You're crazy. If that was your plan, you should have stayed up there and become zombie snack."
"I'm not" He asnwered "I've tried this before."
"And has it ever worked?" asked Leng. Joe didn't answer.
"Stupid kid!" said Max "Please tell me you know the reason why these summons were forbidden."
"I know! I know!" He replied "Just do as you're told. If this doesn't get us out of here, nothing will. Do you want to stay and try to kill this monsters one by one? I don't think so."
Leng sighed. He knew that Joe was right, but there had to be another solution...
Long ago, before humans fully understood the power of Psynergy, it was common knowledge that after unleashing it's powers, a djinni could summon the forces of nature. Two djinn could summon a lower god or goddess and three djinn could summon one of the stronger deities. It required huge amounts of strength and concentration, but the results were easily the most powerful attacks anybody had ever seen. But then people wondered what would happen when four djinn were used. The wisest were not able to contain the powers of the four, and the strongest were not able to concentrate enough to call upon themystical forces. Until one day when a hero (history has not remembered his name, and he's only known as 'the one') did it. His powers were out of this world, and his concentration was not broken. But then, a giant, winged warrior, with blue armor and a lion's head on his left arm appeared from heaven. But then, between the cheering and the offerings, the warrior pointed at the city, which lay on the middle of the western sea, and sent forth a sphere of light. Those who saw it from afar could only describe it as a huge cyan colored orb. The sphere descended slowly to the city and suddenly unleashed destruction on the island. It was utterly destroyed, completely erased from the face of Weyard. The survivors said that it was a punishment against them, hungry for power as they were. Since then, nobody dared to summon these forces again. They were called 'The guardians of Sol' and they were feared. Leng was right to fear this power. But was there another choice? Joe didn't think so.
"All right" said Leng "Do it. We'll try our best to keep us alive."
The door rattled and loud roars were heard outside. Leng focused his psynergy outside the room, creating a wind strong enough to keep the werewolves away from the door. He also grabbed his necklace, looking for a djinni that could protect them. Max grabbed his left bracelet and took out Granite, holding it in his hands. Joe raised his hands, and the four rubies began to float in midair.
"Oh, You, who have created this world in this realm..."
A strong wind began to circle the room. The temperature began to increase, slowly, but steadily...
"Help us in this hour. We need your aid...!"
Added to the increasing temperature, small red orbs began to appear and surround Joe. Suddenly, a magic circle with small runes appeared on the floor. The runes emitted a faint red glow, increasing every moment.
"With the strength of the fire, whose justice cleanses this world and the other, I summon your servant...!"
Leng and Max were still keeping the mosters away. Joe's face, usually calmed, showed now an internal struggle to not break the bond with the God, and to keep the energy released by the summon in his body. Failure to do so meant only death.
"I summon your strength, your powers and your destruction, Meteor!"
With the last word, everything calmed down. The magic circle, which until recently emitted a blinding white light, suddenly vanished, and the temperature dropped all of a sudden. The monsters outside still roared and growled, but to Joe, there was only an indistinct sound of people calling his name, a golden light, and then silence. His eyes began to lose track of objects and shapes. And then, with a dizzying blur of colors, everything went white.
"Joe!"
Leng ran to his aid. Joe's limp body was covered in a cold sweat, and he seemed very ill, but still alive. There were small burns on his armor and his sword was burning, a slight reddish tone in the blade. Max took Granite in hand and raised it. A golden light emanated from the yellow crystal, and a protective field surrounded them. An instant later, the roof gave away, and everywhere around them, something that looked like a hurricane of flames began to take shape. Looking up, Max saw a giant meteor, falling down on the castle, while the zombies used their powers to try and keep it away. But the meteor was enormous, and their attempts were futile. There was a huge, fiery explosion, and the castle and most of the mountain dissapeared in it. There was no trace of the building or of the zombies anymore. Just ashes and dust.