Hello. Well, I was quite pleased with the way that chapter one came out. Here's chapter two for your enjoyment. Thanks to my reviewers for reviewing :)
So Close, Yet So DistantWritten by Xanda
Chapter Two : Determination
Two Months Later...
The town had never had so much gossip. If the townsfolk weren't talking about the recent Sol Sanctum incident, then they were chatting about the mysterious blue light that had flashed on the horizon some days ago. Indeed, Vale had never seemed so busy and friendly.
Felix and Jenna had made it back to Vale without hindrance, though they kept hidden in the dense forests in case they happened upon Saturos and Menardi. Once back through the gates of Vale, they found the town itself to be quite safe, though there was a large river of molten sludge bypassing the town. Frightened, Jenna had run straight back up to the entrance of Sol Sanctum to find Isaac. Thankfully, when she reached the smaller Sanctum guarding the entrance, it was to find a very tearful Dora, Isaac's mother, and a bruised and grazed Isaac.
Jenna herself cried when she found Isaac was safe. The two hugged, each glad that the other was safe. Isaac had been particularly worried when Jenna had been kidnapped. However, when questioned, he refused to speak of what had happened after Jenna had been taken. A couple of days later, when the residents of Vale started to return to normal business, the Sanctum guardians probed Isaac, Jenna and Felix further. Their relief at finding Felix had not died after all was quickly making way for question after question. How had he survived? What had caused him to enter the Sanctum? What had happened? These questions seemed to annoy him, and he refused to answer many, choosing to lapse into silence when the Sanctum guards questioned them.
When it emerged that three of the four Elemental Stars had been stolen, the elders had panicked, and extra defences were placed around Vale. Guards had been employed to guard the sturdier gates built at Vale's entrance. The elders, meanwhile, shut themselves in the Sanctum, and discussed ways in which they would retrieve the Elemental Stars. Until they came up with a plan, there was a ban on leaving or entering Vale. The residents grew uneasy, and the gossip quickly grew more sinister.
Isaac and Felix had agreed not to argue in front of Jenna, who was relieved that they were both safe. However, they were both very frosty toward each other when Jenna wasn't with them. Isaac couldn't forgive Felix for betraying them, and for helping the people who had kidnapped Jenna. Felix, in contrast, was annoyed by Isaac's lack of understanding, and so the two avoided each other as much as possible. However, the Sol Sanctum incident had scared Jenna into thinking that something dangerous was going to happen, and so she insisted on staying with both Isaac and Felix during the day, just in case something happened.
Felix had not yet told Jenna that their parents were still alive. He had been looking for the opportune moment to sneak out of Vale and go directly to Prox. After the Sol Sanctum incident, he hadn't trusted Saturos and Menardi at all, and he refused to help them in exchange for his parents' safety. However, Jenna had been keeping close to Felix ever since Sol Sanctum, and he couldn't sneak out at night because of the extra guard. Also, if he disappeared, Jenna would be heartbroken, and Felix hadn't wanted to cause his sister more pain. His plan wouldn't have worked anyway, even if he had managed to get out of Vale, because he didn't have a ship. Crossing the northern reaches was nothing short of suicide, and once in Prox, he would be questioned by every Proxian about Saturos and Menardi. If they learned that he had abandoned them, they would probably exile him, and his parents wouldn't be allowed to leave.
A few days ago, Vale had been shocked out of their siestas by a brilliant blue flash. Isaac and Jenna had raced out of their respective homes to find a ball of blue energy sitting on the horizon, just visible above the mountains that surrounded Vale. Both had found Kraden standing by his cottage, staring at the light in amazement. He had calmed down enough to tell the two that the light's source was Mercury Lighthouse. This was bad news, as the teachings of Vale had stated that if the Lighthouses were lit, a terrible disaster would wreak havoc on Weyard.
Felix had been incredibly calm at this news, and it was then that Isaac and Jenna began to get suspicious. They probed him for a couple of days, before he finally relented, and answered some questions.
"Felix, you're hiding something," Jenna sat on the edge of the river, dipping her feet into the cool water. She looked at her brother in concern. "You've been withdrawn ever since the incident."
Felix said nothing, as per usual, and instead stared into the blue water. He had been forcing himself to tell Jenna about their parents, and as icy as his relationship was with Isaac, Isaac also deserved to know that his father was still alive. However, he couldn't think how to break the news. It wouldn't be easy to rescue them, and telling Jenna and Isaac that their parents were in Saturos and Menardi's hometown would send them into a panic.
"I've got a question," said Isaac, though Felix was almost certain what was coming. "How come you were so calm during that blue light flash? Don't you remember Vale's teachings? The world could be in danger!"
"You're wrong," said Felix softly, but he didn't elaborate. Jenna sighed in annoyance.
"We've had this argument too many times! Felix, please," Jenna gazed into her brother's eyes, trying to discern an emotion. "Whatever you say, we're not going to hate you."
Speak for yourself, thought Isaac. He's still in cahoots with those Sol Sanctum people!
"You say that too easily," said Felix, refusing to meet his sister's eyes. He looked to the sky instead. "Once I explain, you'll probably want to exile me or something." Beside him, Isaac couldn't contain a snort of agreement.
It appeared that Jenna had had enough. She jumped to her feet and glared down at Felix. "For Weyard's sake! I'm sick of having this same conversation, over and over again! Felix, I'm your sister. Even if I don't end up agreeing with your reasoning, I'll still listen! And Isaac, at least give him a chance to explain! Don't try to hide it; I know you two have been at each other's throats lately! Felix, whatever it is, spit it out!"
Felix stared at the sky for a fraction longer, and then sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid it any longer. He started explaining about what had happened after the storm, how he'd been rescued. Jenna tried to interrupt, asking why he couldn't have returned to Vale, but Felix insisted on no interruptions. It was like a dead weight on his chest was beginning to ease, and the more he explained, the better he seemed to feel. He had been keeping so much inside, that it was a relief to explain it to the two, even if they didn't believe him afterwards.
Felix explained what had happened when he reached Prox: how the elders of Prox had practically forced him into helping Saturos and Menardi on their quest. He'd refused, somewhat bravely, and demanded an explanation before he'd consider stepping foot into their quest. That was when his beliefs were challenged. Felix carefully explained to Isaac and Jenna about Prox's beliefs concerning the Elemental Stars and the Lighthouses, and compared them with Vale's. Both listened intently as Felix explained that Prox wanted to light the Lighthouses.
The next part was tough. Felix then explained that he believed in Prox's versions of events, as there was solid proof, for one, and their legends made a lot more sense than Vale's. Proxian civilians weren't kept in the dark about the reasoning behind their legends, and after a couple of months, Felix said that he had begun to believe them himself. Thus, he had begun his training for the arduous journey back to Vale, and Sol Sanctum.
"You believed them?" Isaac asked in disbelief. "You're there for what, a few months, and already you're ready to abandon Vale and just drop everything you've ever learned?"
"If you'd have been in my position, you would have done the same. I'm not abandoning Vale's teachings, because some are true. However, the legends about the Elemental Stars and Lighthouses are completely biased."
"How do you work that one out?" Isaac demanded. "Why? Why would Vale's tutors have reason to lie to us? You're not making sense, Felix."
"Perhaps if you considered that there's more outside the box, then you'd begin to realise that you can't be right all the time," said Felix coolly. Jenna sensed the inevitable argument.
"You said Prox had proof that the Lighthouses needed to be lit. What was it? The elders of Vale have always been able to justify their teachings..."
"They lied," said Felix, turning to his sister. Isaac gave a snort of disbelief. Felix ignored him and continued. "They didn't want Vale to know about the Elemental Stars, in case somebody wanted to steal them and take the power for their own, selfish purposes. What Vale's elders don't know is that Weyard is slowly crumbling. The world is a lot smaller than it used to be, and Prox have maps to prove it. Also...close to the Mars Lighthouse is a void. It's where the world ends." Felix paused to let these words sink in.
"...Ends?" Jenna asked after a moment's silence. "What, it just stops, just like that?"
"Saturos and Menardi took me out there once, to prove Prox's teachings. The ground just ended. There was a line where it ended, and then after the line was nothing. I couldn't explain...but there was no light, no dark, no sound, nothing."
Isaac and Jenna were silent, thinking about these words. It wasn't easy to think that there was a very definite end to the world.
"So," began Isaac sceptically, "what does that have to do with the Lighthouses?"
"According to the ancient documents of Prox, the world started eroding after the Lighthouses were extinguished-"
"Typical!" exclaimed Isaac, looking furious. "The documents would have to be from Prox, wouldn't they? How convenient for them! How do you know they didn't make it up, huh? Why are you accusing Vale of lying?"
"Because I've seen solid proof," said Felix angrily, "and believe me, it makes much more sense than the mumbo jumbo that Vale's elders have been spoon feeding us all these years!"
" 'Mumbo jumbo'?" Isaac jumped to his feet. "You live here for fifteen years, and then you go gallivanting off to Prox, and suddenly Vale looks like the liar?"
"Just because you refuse to believe anything that isn't put right in front of your nose doesn't mean that it can't exist," snapped Felix, also standing. He glared at Isaac. "You always think that you're in the right, and the rest of Weyard is wrong. There are other places beside Vale!"
"STOP ARGUING!" Jenna jumped between the two and held her arms out, blocking the steadily advancing pair. "Isaac, let Felix speak. He might be right! And Felix, you have to understand where Isaac's coming from. It's all we've been taught..."
Felix and Isaac glared at each other, before reluctantly sitting down again. Jenna sighed in relief. "Thank you. Felix, you're saying that Saturos and Menardi are going to re-light the Lighthouses?"
"Yes. They have to, in order to stop the world from eating itself."
There was a thick silence, in which Jenna gazed at Felix. He could be right. Why else would he travel with them? Felix wouldn't let the world die.
"But, Vale's teachings..." Isaac looked toward the small Sanctum. "They say that Alchemy's dangerous. If the Lighthouses are lit, then Alchemy could destroy Weyard."
"If the Lighthouses are left unlit, Weyard will die anyway. Gaia Falls is eating the surface of the world. Alchemy is only dangerous if misused – at least that's a preventable thing." Felix stared into the river again.
"Hang on, I've heard this before," Jenna frowned into the grass; her memory providing a sense of déjà vu. "Kraden...Kraden said something about the Lighthouses, and Alchemy. I think...that's why he wanted to investigate Sol Sanctum. I remember him saying something about how Vale's teachings were vague. They don't explain the whole story, apparently. Isaac, this makes sense!"
Isaac listened in silence. He had always accepted the teachings of Vale without question. The elders had no reason to lie to them...or did they? Though he hated to admit it, Felix was right, there were other places outside of Vale. Was that why Vale was so fenced off from the rest of Weyard? He had been silent for too long; Felix and Jenna were looking at him, waiting for a response. He grunted. "A little bit. Yeah. I'm not saying I believe you though, Felix. But Jenna's right, it does sort of make sense..."
Jenna beamed at him. "But..." her face turned serious, "there was a reason why they needed you, Felix. Why? Does it have something to do with the Lighthouses?"
"The Proxian teachings say that to light the Lighthouses, an Adept of the corresponding element is needed. Saturos and Menardi are both Mars Adepts, so Mars Lighthouse wouldn't have been a problem. Alex is Mercury, and I guess that explains the blue light everyone saw a few days ago. Mercury must've been lit. And I'm Venus, obviously. Apparently I was needed to open the Venus Lighthouse once we came to it."
"So why did you leave? You said you believed Prox's teachings. Why stop them from lighting Venus?" Isaac asked, suspicion in his eyes.
Felix's own eyes darkened, and he looked to the sky almost angrily. "There are plenty of other Venus Adepts. I wasn't exactly indispensable. And after what happened in Sol Sanctum...well, they can find someone else." He refused to go into further detail, though Isaac knew that he was talking about the events in the Inner Sanctum just after Jenna had been kidnapped.
Another silence descended, before Felix gathered up the courage to say the next part. "There's something else," he said, still looking at the sky. "Isaac, Jenna..."
"Yes?" asked Jenna tentatively, noticing his sudden mood change.
"Our parents. Your father, Isaac. I...wasn't the only survivor that night. The boulder merely swept us downstream. We were injured, but not too badly." Jenna's eyes were like saucers, and Isaac was looking at Felix in disbelief.
"Are you...are you saying...?"
"Our parents are alive?" Jenna asked in hushed, unbelieving tones, staring at Felix. He nodded.
Jenna let out a shriek, and she grabbed Isaac and hugged him tightly. He was still staring at Felix, not daring to believe it.
"You're telling the truth?"
Felix smiled. Isaac's face lit up, and his mouth split into a large grin.
"They're alive! They're alive!" Jenna jumped up and down in excitement. "Are they all right? Where are they? Three years! I haven't seen them in three years! What're they like? Has mum's hair grown? She said she wanted to grow it! And dad! Did they ask about me? I can't believe it!"
"Yeah, where are they, if they survived?" Isaac's grin faltered. "Didn't they want to come back? Wait..." he paled, "they're not in Prox?"
Felix swallowed heavily and nodded. Jenna stopped jumping around, and looked at Felix in horror. "Prox? Prox? Why are they there?" She sounded afraid.
"That's why I finally agreed to help Saturos and Menardi. They said that they wouldn't let us go back to Vale as a family unless I helped them with their quest."
"They're hostages? Oh no!" Jenna gasped.
"Unless you helped them?" Isaac was white. "Then...what'll happen to them now? You're not helping them any more!"
"I didn't tell you at first because I knew you'd react like this. I've been trying to figure out how to go and rescue them for ages, but I didn't want to involve you."
"Didn't want to involve us?" Jenna repeated. "But, they're our parents! Of course we want to be involved!"
"I didn't want you to get hurt!" Felix looked at his sister in exasperation.
"Oh, and going alone won't kill you at all, will it not?" Isaac asked sarcastically. "Do us a favour, and stop acting the hero!" Felix glared at him.
"I'm not 'acting the hero'!"
"Before we start arguing again!" Jenna shouted, glaring at them both. They both fell silent. "Thank you. So, what's the plan?"
"The...plan?" Felix asked, looking at his sister with some suspicion. "You can't mean-"
"Yes. You're not going alone, Felix. They're our parents."
"Jenna's right," Isaac nodded. "If you go back to Prox without having lit the Lighthouses, then they'll probably kill you-"
"They're not that bad-"
"EVEN so," Isaac stood slowly, staring at the entrance to Vale. "We can't risk leaving them. If Prox find out that you've left Saturos and Menardi, they'll probably kill our parents." Behind him, Jenna paled slightly.
"They lit Mercury a few days ago," said Felix, apparently lost in thought. "So it means that they haven't gone back to Prox yet.Prox won't know that I'm not withSaturos and Menardianymore. We have some time..."
"So, it's decided," Jenna said, her tone final. "We'll go to Prox and rescue our parents!"
"All three of us," said Isaac firmly. Felix reluctantly nodded his head.
"How do we leave Vale, though? I hardly think the elders will let us go. 'You're too young!' they'll say. But we can't get through the gate without their permission..." Jenna chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully.
"We'll need all our persuasive skills. I think...I think that also means we'll need the mayor's backing. And for that, we'll need..."
"Garet!" Jenna walked into Garet's house, closely followed by Felix and Isaac. He looked up, and grinned at them.
"Hey! How's it going?"
"Listen, we need a favour..."
Jenna, Felix and Isaac explained briefly that they needed to leave Vale to rescue their parents. Garet, bewildered at first, agreed after hearing a summary of what had happened to them. They shortened the story even further when explaining to Garet's grandfather about why they needed to leave Vale, but thankfully, with a little persuasion from Garet, the mayor agreed to accompany them to see the elders.
As they walked to the small elders' Sanctum, Garet matched his pace with Jenna's. "So, how have you been?"
Jenna smiled at him. "All right. It's good to have Felix around again. And now I find out that our parents are alive! But...I suppose I'm worried about everything that's to come. I mean, a whole town full of people like Saturos and Menardi? Scary."
Garet chuckled. "I can't say I blame you. But with Felix and Isaac there too, I think you'll be all right. One question – how will you get there? Last I heard Prox was across a vast opening of water."
"We're going to try to find a ship," Jenna answered. "We checked a couple of maps, and the closest town specialising in ships is a small place called Madra. If they can't lend us a ship, then they'll probably be able to recommend somewhere. Hopefully we'll find one quickly. The longer we leave it, the more time that Saturos and Menardi get to report back to Prox and tell them that Felix abandoned them."
They reached the Sanctum. "I shall speak first," said Garet's grandfather. "If the elders hear it from a reliable person first, it will set up a better impression."
They walked inside, and proceeded to explain their situation to the elders. The mayorperformed a fine persuasive speech, and after Felix and the others had explained the story further, the elders looked close to agreeing to let them out of the gates.
"After considering your story," the Grand Elder surveyed the group through wise eyes, "I shall agree to let you leave Vale for your parents. However, there is a time-consuming condition."
Jenna chewed her lip nervously. What could that mean? Time-consuming? They didn't have a lot of time to reach their parents...the Grand Elder must have meant that they undertake the condition after the safe rescue of their parents.
"Once you acquire a ship, I must ask you to stop the fiends from lighting the Elemental Lighthouses."
Isaac, Jenna and Felix looked at one another. That meant stopping the one thing that prevented the destruction of Weyard...Jenna was about to say something, but was stopped with a significant look from Felix.
"We agree, Grand Elder," said Isaac, nodding his head. "We shall do everything in our power to stop them from lighting the remaining Lighthouses."
Jenna understood. They didn't have time to explain to the elders about the Lighthouses. Once they had rescued their parents, then they could worry about the Lighthouse situation.
"Then, it is decided," said the Grand Elder, looking upon them with a smile on his face. "Tomorrow morning, you shall embark on your quest. I shall inform the gate guardians. Now, I advise you to get some rest. And, one more thing," he added as they turned to go back to their respective houses, "Good luck."
Wow, this one took a while to write. I had a bit of writer's block in the early part of this, but then it flowed quite nicely. I hope it wasn't too dull or anything.
Alex: Zzzz
Good support from my muse, as always. Reviews and construtive criticism is greatly appreciated.