Naoki07 here! Welcome to 'Snow', the next chapter of 'Aeturnitas'.
Inspiration is a constant stream of thunder, and I'm taking in every drop. The plot has been through many alterations-I'm very excited to see how this is going to turn out! 'Advent Children', of course, is one of my sources, but there are many others as well. The 'Magic' series of Mercedes Lackey, Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden and Final Fantasy X are just a few of my sources-and the list continues to grow.
Before I begin, I'd like to give the biggest shout-out to Hikaru, the author of 'In Writing a Letter'. That story is my biggest source of inspiration. After I finished Chapter 2, I felt as though I had just watched a Lord of the Rings movie. Actually, I still can't tear my eyes away from it!
Characters from 'Sword of Seals' are going to make their first appearances here. One of the characters made it in here as a dedication to 'End of Thought'. Please enjoy!
Current background music: 'Luxurious' by Gwen Stefani
Night made its descent upon the palace of Pharae. It fell upon the palace in the manner of a sleek, clever panther, for its arrival came swiftly to many of the palace residents. Night made an abrupt entrance, and it took many hearts by surprise, but its entrance was one that would be remembered by all. It came in a breathtaking gale of revitalizing vigor-rivers of pearly white snow happily made themselves known as soon as the sun lowered itself into slumber, and the silvery moon emerged in a wind of true resplendence. For many, the arrival of night signified the arrival of peace. Many saw the arrival of night as a flag of urgency, and others saw it as the onslaught of uneasiness.
There was a certain soul who saw night's arrival as an onslaught of uneasiness, even though he held up a warm smile for his subjects to see. His mind was unable to remove itself from a certain meeting, and so his heart was drowning in a massive amount of pain. However, he bore no desire to bring pain to any of his faithful followers-as always, he kept his troubles to himself. It was nine o'clock in the palace of Pharae-at eight o'clock, he had made an announcement to his devoted followers about a trip. It was a Christmas trip to Charon, one of the most beautiful places in existence. Smiles blossomed when the news was exposed, and cheers were abundant...but the young heart was unable to bring a true smile to his heart.
Soren knew.
Soren knew of his Sovereign's troubles. He knew of his Sovereign's emotions, his dreams and thoughts...
He had a very strong connection to Roy, and cared for him dearly. He knew his Sovereign was in pain, and hated that fact deeply...but answers were not present. He had the ability to read the thoughts of the earth-he could peer into the earth's core and listen to the melody of wind...but he had no way to dig into the future.
He was in one of his most favorite gardens of the palace: the Cygnus Blade Garden. This particular garden was a haven of sapphire blue resplendence-Cygnus Blade flowers were an enchanting, alluring shade of blue, and they never failed to emit their true beauty. There was a water fountain in the center of this garden-it came nowhere near the Elysium Haven fountain, but it had a special beauty of its own. Small flocks of Shaias flies constantly hovered about the petals-they were descendants of fireflies, and they were born within the blue treasures. This garden bore an aura of tranquility about it, and it never failed to bring Soren comfort in times of need. Of course he had his book with him-it rarely ever left his side.
Time was flowing at its own pace, but it seemed to be flying by Soren for some reason-the hands of time were angry with him, and he didn't know why. For the first time in his life, he was feeling uneasy, and he wasn't on good terms with 'uneasiness'. He was normally calm and composed, but now he was a completely different person. He was still in the position of Advisor, but he was in the shoes of a father-a concerned, worried father. He was only fifteen, but he possessed a depth of strength that shamed even the oldest of Pharae's residents. He cared for Roy more than he cared for his own life-there were flames of passion brewing in his heart for Eliwood's son, but he had no desire to bring them to light. He cared for Marth the way a child would care for a big brother, and he was an enthusiastic supporter of his bond with Roy.
At the moment, though, their soulbond was in danger.
He peered into the skies once again, and found no relief.
They were quiet...too quiet.
They were almost too painful to look at.
Sure, Roy was running around with a smile on his face-but he wasn't happy. Everyone else fell for the smile, but Soren knew the truth.
The truth was painful.
The Soulbond Star was no longer in the sky, and it seemed to have no desire to return.
Soren's heart was burning in a pit of uneasiness, and he was unbearably uncomfortable with it. Something was telling him to stay on the sidelines...something was telling him to lay low and let destiny take its course...
He wanted that 'something' to leave him alone.
"So, I take it you're accompanying the lovebirds to Charon as well?"
"Of course I am. Lord Marth evidently has something planned for our Lord Roy, and I'd like to support both of them. I wouldn't miss this for the world-and if something happens, Lord Roy's going to have his best archer at his side. I've never been to Charon anyway, and there's nothing wrong with an adventure."
Allen smiled at his companion, and assisted him with his current activity. The two of them were on the palace training grounds-they were the only ones within the area, and they were happily enjoying the night's beauty. Training sessions were brought to a halt several hours ago, but Allen and his friend had decided to go beyond the normal routines. Wolt, the Captain of the Archer unit, was relieving the ground of his used arrows-and his companion was helping him.
"I think the two of them are going to be just fine, then. The two of us make a great team, and Soren's got a few tricks up his sleeve-if anything happens, it'll be taken care of in a flash. I'm glad you decided to tag along, Wolt."
"So am I. We'd better hurry-our departure is set for tomorrow morning, and the night isn't going to slow down for us."
"No need to worry."
Allen proudly raised the last arrow and winked. "Our last friend has been found. Take him."
He threw the last arrow to his friend, and it was caught with alarming accuracy. The two of them were a perfect team-that was obvious to everyone that looked upon them. One was a beam of light, and the other was a shadow-they enjoyed switching positions on each other, and their decisions were never met with frustration. Wolt winked back at his friend and placed the last arrow back in his quiver, always happy to be near his brotherly companion.
"Thanks. I'll take good care of him. Nobody's going to step on this little baby. Hey, you'd better get some sleep-it's getting late, and we've got an early day tomorrow."
Allen narrowed his eyes at Wolt in playful frustration. "What about you?" he asked, and received soft laughter in return.
"Don't worry about me-I can go without sleep for weeks. Now go on. I'll see you tomorrow."
Allen kept his eyes on Wolt for a few more seconds, then released a sigh of anger and turned away. His friend was energetic, overconfident and stubborn-he was also shy and humble. A strange combination-it was even irritating at times...but it was the combination that made Wolt. Allen respected his friend's personality deeply, even though his stubbornness annoyed him on several occasions.
Silence wrapped itself around Allen, and held his heart in the spirit of the night. His footsteps were etched into the blankets of snow as he made his way back into the warmth of the palace...but his footsteps ceased after several minutes. He brought his walking to a halt and looked behind him, believing that he would catch a glimpse of his friend...but Wolt was nowhere in sight.
He had a knack for vanishing into thin air.
After he had failed to catch a last glimpse of his friend, he continued on his way to the palace...with the desire to see his Sovereign. Silent tension had his heart in a tight, painful grip, and the reason for its existence was unclear-but he knew it had something to do with Roy. The Sovereign was making his rounds about the palace with a bright smile on his face, but something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was wrong.
Snow was silently falling upon the world of Pharae.
Each drop was a fragrant, pristine beacon of warmth...a dulcet melody of pure silence.
The skies were dark, silvery oceans...and cold winds were flowing through them...
The way waves danced through an ocean of twilight.
The throne room of Pharae's palace was as silent as the world beyond it. There was only one soul within the throne room, and not a single source of light-the only beams of light were created by the incandescent blankets of snow. Two eyes were gazing out into the heavens, and they were unbearably heavy with sadness...they were as deep as the night, and they were filled with a silence that bore the power of a million words.
Snowdrops continued to fall upon his world...
As his heart continued to fall further and further into a realm of regret.
Time continued on its way, but its existence wasn't acknowledged by the saddened soul. The young soul had tossed the hands of time to the side, and so they were being ignored. At the same time, they were torturing him-it was as if they hated to be ignored, and wanted the young soul to place his attention back on them. His soft eyes continued to fall into the heavens above him...as he continued to hold his back against time...and as tears continued their descent from his eyes.
"...Lord Roy?"
A gasp tore itself from the young soul's heart, and brought him right back to reality. The smile he had worn for so many hours returned in an instant...but he made no effort to hide his tears. His eyes fell onto the one that had encountered awkward silence, and they sparkled with their usual fire...but the flames were tainted by the aura of sorrow's tears.
"Allen! What brings you by?"
Allen felt as if he had become a two-year old child, and the throne room had transformed itself into the biggest auditorium. He stood in the doorway and kept his worried eyes on Roy, clearly uncomfortable with the tension hanging in the air. Something was definitely wrong-his hunches were never too far off the mark.
"...I...came for a visit, my lord. I...wanted to check up on you. After all, we're heading for Charon tomorrow-I wanted to know if you were all right."
The response he received failed to satisfy him.
"Of course I'm all right! I couldn't be happier! You know, for a moment I thought you were Marth-I'm glad you aren't, dear friend!"
That made things even worse.
Allen frowned at him, feeling the cold hand of tension grasp his heart. "What do you mean by that, sire?" he asked worriedly, still uncomfortable with the apprehension flowing through his heart. Something was wrong with his king. Why didn't he want to see Marth?
"Oh, nothing really. It's just that I'm a bit tired-I'm about to head off for bed."
The confusion rose to a feverish pitch, and it made Allen sick to his stomach.
It was as if Roy was speaking in some obsolete, ancient language.
Now it was his turn to speak in a strange, unbelievable language.
"Sire...did the two of you happen to have an altercation?"
A flash of eternal sorrow shot right through Roy's eyes.
Allen caught it.
"Just a small one. It was all my fault-I was responsible for the whole scene. How could he ever start an argument? He's an immaculate, flawless statue-and here I am, a lowly mortal in the wake of an angel. I haven't seen him since this morning, but I'm sure he's all right. We'll see each other tomorrow!"
Nothing was making sense.
Roy and Marth, the happiest lovers in history, had a little argument-which was evidently started by Roy.
Roy was avoiding him...but he loved him with a passion that put the power of comprehension to the ugliest shame.
The Sovereign of Pharae was standing before him now...with a smile on his face...
And he had just called himself a 'lowly mortal'.
Allen was almost on the same page as Soren.
Night continued to leave its melody upon the hearts of Pharae...and the hands of time continued their merciless reign. Hearts fell into slumber...other hearts were unable to rest...
An angel was bathing in the Sorius Lake of Purity...
And his star was lost in a tunnel of darkness.
Allen left his Sovereign to himself, and stood with his back against the throne room doors. He slumped against the doors with a sigh, unhappy with the facts he had just attained. A heavy sigh withdrew itself from his lips, and his heart sank under a vault of confusion-something had happened between Roy and Marth, and they were locked in the most beautiful Soulbond in history.
Soren was in his quarters...unable to sleep because of the anxiety flowing through his veins.
Marth, an angel of Altea, was bathing in an incandescent lake of radiance...
And his soul mate was drowning.
Unbridled happiness was streaming through the heart of the angel...
Eternal sadness was streaming in the heart of the mortal.
"I...I...wish...I wish he had never..."
-Thank you very much for reading. Sorry if this was too much of a cliffy-I'll try to continue soon. More inspiration just came to me in the form of 'Oh My Goddess: The Movie'-I'm going to incorporate some themes of the movie into the 'Soulbond' concept.
In the next entry, the trip to Charon is going to occur...and Roy's sorrow is going to become even stronger. I apologize to those of you that know the true personalities of Wolt, Allen, Hardin and Riev-the personality of Hardin was inspired by Kadaj, a character of Advent Children. The others were shaped in my hands, and I hope all of them are faithful enough.
Take care, and happy reading!