A/N: Wow, I didn't expect this many reviews. I'm happy! Anyhoo, review replies, in order of appearance.

Stormhammer: Thank you for your input. I'm glad I was able to hold your attention like that, that's what I was hoping to do! Yes, I do plan to change game dialougue (and kick the hell out of it!), but I'll be talking more about that later (seeing as almost every reviewer made this comment)

Van Skylion: I'm glad you liked it so much! One of the most well-written fics, period? Wow, thank you! I'm honoured you liked that much. Funny, you're the only person who liked the perfect game dialougue. But, it won't stay perfect like that, sorry!

Meneil: Sorry! I didn't realize you had one too! Please, accept my apologies! It's wierd, the minute I decide to do a novelization, and i don't see any, some pop up just as I publish! There's another out there now, as well!

Feonyx: You'll notice I changed the summary not long after publishing. Now, I changed it again. I'll probably do so again, because I'm still not sure that I'm happy with it. I didn't mean to sound arrogant. I was just overcome with the euphoric feeling of "Yay-finally-publishing-my-work-I'm-so-happy!". Also, forgive my terming of pairngs. What I meant to say (and so right royally screwed up in doing) is that I'm doing pairings that seem to have at least some vague game support, although I admit that that would be a debatable subject.

I'm planning to change to dialougue later on, and it won't follow 'perfectly' the game. I am allowing myself some freedom. Throw in a bit more history about the land. More character detail than we see. Interesting stuff that still works out in the game logic.

Funny you should mention that novelizations are great for practice, because that's precisely the reason I wanted to do this first. To get practice for when I want to do better, original projects. I do have original ideas, but they can wait util I'm sure I'm ready to do them. Also, as I said, I just like the game enough to want to do this. Besides, I'm hoping to write it well enough that someone who has never played the game can read and enjoy the sotry just as much as any GS gamer.

Favri the Fisher: Yeah, I've read a few other attempts. I like it to. Yes, dialougue will change. I'll try harder to look out for those stupid spelling mistakes. (you read through so many times, yet you still miss some!)

Nickkang:  Glad you liked it! Sorry, no mudshipping.

Ah, my first reviewer. Awesome? Thank you! Hopefully you'll like the rest I put in.

Disclaimer: For those curious or confused, alas, no, I don't own Golden Sun. So don't write to me asking for the rights. :(

Okay then, on with the show. This chapter actually only occupies a small portion of the game. I spent a lot of time giving character development here, for the simple sake of the fact that this is the first 'real' chapter (Non prolougue). The start of the whole story probably might seem to be going slow, but it will speed up to a nice pace later.

Okay then, as for the game dialougue that most of you referred to. No, it won't be word for word anymore. I did that there mainly because it was easier, and I felt it was good enough for what I wanted at the time. From now on, I'm writing roughly my own, using the games as a guide. Besides, apart from jsut giving Isaac stuff to say, I feel it would need to be changed anyway, just to make it better. I'll probably throw in a lot more info later on in the usual talk just to make it more in-depth and interesting. Hopefully, this pleases my readers.

Yeah, I know this chapter seems very similar still (in some places if not most) but it was changed enough as suited my needs. Anyway, here is you chapter, becuase I know you aren't here to listen to me!

CHAPTER ONE

THE BEGINNING

Three years later...

It was three years to the day since that terrible storm had erupted over Vale. The people of Vale tried to forget the tragedy and worked hard to repair the village. Although the Elders assured the people that a storm of that magnitude would never happen again, some were still a little nervous, especially on the anniversary of that day.

But today it was peaceful and sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The village of Vale had almost completely recovered from the damage inflicted by the storm. Friendly villagers strolled calmly through the village, enjoying the blissful day as they went about their day-to-day routines.

Jenna, now sixteen years old, strolled calmly through the village stopping occasionally to greet someone she knew. She had her red hair tied back in a ponytail like always and was wearing her favourite red dress. She was eating a quick breakfast of toasted bread that she had cooked with her own Psynergy abilities, now that she had learned the some of her skills.

Since the accident three years ago she had lived with her grandparents who kindly opened their home to her, now that she was their only remaining living relative. It had taken her ages to get over the pain of losing her family, but she had eventually been able to put it all behind her and focus herself on her studies in Psynergy to become an Adept, just like Isaac and Garet did. But this training in Psynergy to learn how to become an Adept was more really a way of putting the pain of her past behind her, to make a new, fresh start, and fill with meaning the emptiness that she always felt in her heart nowadays.

She and her two friends worked hard to understand the ancient teachings relating to Alchemy that the foreign scholar Kraden often taught her about. The fiery red-head was a strong minded woman who had a reputation for having a bit of a temper, and wasn't afraid to impart her opinions on others, no matter the circumstances.

Isaac and Garet were her best friends in Vale; they had grown up together as children as well as with Felix, until he died, as there weren't too many other kids their age to hang out with, so now it was just the three of them. Everyone in Vale always learned to harness their abilities in Psynergy to the fullest, for everyone in that village was an Adept, an Adept being someone who could wield Psynergy, to some degree. This was completely unlike everyone else in the world of Weyard, where Adepts were non-existent, and very few knew about the power of Psynergy.

But the trio of Isaac, Garet and Jenna were different to everyone else. Although everyone in Vale could wield Psynergy, most could only hold a small amount and do only small, everyday things with it, except of course for the Elders. But even they claimed that the power of Psynergy had greatly diminished since The Lost Age of man, before Alchemy was sealed away. They said that Adepts were becoming less numerous and less powerful and only in Vale were they common now. But even though everyone in Vale could only wield small amounts of Psynergy some degree, Isaac, Garet and Jenna showed incredible potential.

According to the Elders they could even potentially be as powerful as an Adept from The Lost Age! They could possibly become great and mighty warriors once they fully learned to use their power. However, even though they had studied hard over the last three years to use their Psynergy, they had only just become able to understand how to use and wield it, and they were just beginning to learn their abilities.

There were four kinds of Adepts, corresponding with the four elements of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water.

Venus Adepts, or Earth adepts, had the power to control and manipulate the earth.

Then there were Mars Adepts, or Fire Adepts as they were more commonly known, had the power to create and manipulate fire. They were always the fiercest warriors.

There were also Jupiter Adepts, or Wind Adepts as the common name. They could control the wind; create tornadoes and such similar things.

Finally there were Mercury Adepts, or just Water Adepts. They could control the water and even turn it into ice. They also tended to be the best healers as well.

Jenna was a Fire Adept, just like her mother, although her mother had only had mild abilities, such as lighting candles and warming water.

But none of them really wanted to become warriors anyway. No one in Vale ever needed to fight. Sure there were the occasional arguments, even maybe the odd fistfight, but no one ever used their Psynergy as a weapon. It was just an abhorrent idea. They were always taught by the Elders to never do so. And most villagers knew no ways of using Psynergy as a weapon anyway.

Jenna passed by Isaac's house. Isaac was standing on the roof, fixing it up. He was an Earth Adept, just like his father had been, and had short, messy blonde hair and blue eyes, the same as his mother. His mother, Dora came out of the house to see how he was going.

"Isaac! Have you finished mending the roof yet?" She called out, from below him by the front door.

"No, but I'm almost done." He called back.

"You're almost done? Ok, keep at it!" She replied and went back inside to finish whatever business she had.

Isaac's body was glowing with Psynergy as he made the tools he needed float towards him. Ever since he learned to do that, he'd been doing it all the time to make his job easier, but it was also good for practice. The three of them always used their abilities to do as much as they possibly could, including their chores.

He'll be finished soon She thought to herself I'll go get Garet while he finishes things up here. She walked on to Garet's house, just someway behind Isaacs. As she approached his home, she found him in the garden training.
He focused on a large rock in front of him and raised his hand. To the ordinary eye it would have appeared to move by itself, but Jenna could see the flows of Psynergy wrapped around it, pushing it along the ground and onto some flowers. She had only recently learned to see and sense the power Psynergy. She looked again to the flowers in the garden. They belonged to Garet's older sister, Kay. He was really going to get it from her when she found out. His entire family was renowned for its quick tempers, much like Jenna was.

Garet was seventeen years old now and he was a lot bigger and taller. He was a Fire Adept as well, just like everyone in his family was. His body was very muscly for someone his age as he worked out a lot and over the past couple of years had helped out a lot with rebuilding the village, doing a lot of heavy lifting. His red hair was perfectly spiked as always. How he actually did that, she didn't quite know.

"You sure do put a lot of effort into training all the time, Garet!" She laughed as she approached. "It's only morning and you're already practicing to move stuff."

"Oh, I'm just finishing up." He replied calmly, wiping some sweat of his forehead, as he noticed his new spectator, "It was just a quick little practice."

"That's good, because it's time to leave." She reminded him, "Kraden will be waiting for us. Isaac's just finishing up with fixing his roof."

Today they were meant to go visit Kraden and pay a visit to Mount Aleph to do some hiking, and learn some more lessons about whatever the old man had in store for them.

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten." he smiled, "I was just waiting for you to arrive"

Garet laughed and picked up his things. As he did so, he paused for a moment, and stood staring out at the river.

He was probably just remembering that night three years ago, she assumed. None of them found it easy to get over, least of all her and Isaac. She didn't want to see again what he gazed at, she had seen it often enough. Her old home, by the river, and the ruined pier where she had lost her family.

Although now that she thought about it, there was something about that night that she wanted to ask him about, but never really had a chance to.

"Say, what exactly happened to you two?" She asked quickly, interrupting his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Garet asked back, a little shocked, not realising what she was referring to.

"The accident three years ago... Is that why you've been studying Psynergy so hard?"

"Well, no... I just want to become a powerful Adept." He shrugged, "Besides, if something like that ever does happen again... well, I want to make sure we don't ever fail anyone again, like we did."

"I appreciate your concern, Garet, but... my families never coming back and neither is Isaacs's father..." she shook her head ruefully "I just want to forget that day. I wish everyone would." She muttered sadly. "It was three years ago now. Don't keep blaming yourself; there was nothing you could do."

"That terrible night..." Garet recalled solemnly "I remember most what happened. We went to get help, but they found us unconscious. Even after they had drowned and we couldn't do anything, me and Isaac tried to go and get some help, but we were knocked out."

They had tried to get some more help, after her entire family and Isaac's father were hit by that boulder, forced into the river where they drowned, their bodies never to be found.

He and Isaac claimed that they couldn't remember what had happened after that. Their memories were blank and some of the Elders guessed that they had been hit on the head by falling rocks or something similar.

Jenna realized that the conversation was getting gloomy so she changed the subject. "Never mind about that." She said, trying to brighten the mood a little, "Let's go get Isaac and go to Kraden's. I'm sure he has another invigorating lesson for us!" Garet chuckled at her sarcasm. The Alchemy Sage could be a little bit boring sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm sure old Kraden doesn't want to be kept waiting." He replied, smiling once more, "Let's go get Isaac, then."

Isaac stood on the roof of his house and brushed his unruly blonde hair out of his eyes with his hand. He'd inherited his naturally messy hair from his father, bless his soul, and now he just left it where it was in the mornings, not bothering to brush it anymore. It was just too much effort to even make it look even half representable.

He was wearing his usual blue tunic and breeches, as he repaired the roof of his house. Focusing his mind, Psynergy flowed through his body and he levitated a piece of thatching onto a hole in the roof. Still focusing, he placed his hand over it and started using his Earth Psynergy to rearrange and merge the thatching together; fixing the roof up so that you could never tell that there was a hole there.

Dora climbed up behind him and began inspecting his work. She was wearing her plain brown dress and had her brown hair done up in a bun as usual.

"Good job, Isaac, you patched it nicely." She told him, giving him a pat on the back, as she surveyed his work. "It looks like you're all done here, thank you. You're very reliable you know... just like your father was."

A wave of sadness suddenly washed over him as she said that, as the memories of his father's demise came back to him. She noticed his expression and asked, "What is it Isaac? Do you still think about the accident?"

"Yes." Was all he said, swallowing a lump in his throat. He tried not to think about that awful night three years ago. He didn't want to remember how they had all died, his father Kyle and then best friend Felix and even Felix's parents. Died because he had failed them. If only he had been stronger, he could have saved them! But then, something else, something he couldn't remember, something dark that flitted on the edge of his memory, also disturbed him. What had happened after that accident? He couldn't remember. Why had he blacked out?

"I thought so... Isaac," She started in her kind, motherly voice, "You, Garet and Jenna, have been working yourselves to the bone studying Psynergy. Do you think that things would have been any different if you'd had stronger abilities?"

Isaac knew in his heart that he could have done something to help if only he had trained harder. If he had been stronger, if he could have only done something! Then they would still be here!

"Yes, I know I could've have saved them, but I just wasn't strong enough." He replied, trying to conceal the anguish he felt in his heart at wanting to rectify his mistakes, yet never being able to. Secretly, he thought of the how some dark disturbing memory burned in the back of his mind, unidentifiable, but hinting at something that was so powerful that he couldn't defend himself from it. "If I had known how to use Psynergy back then, we could have just pulled Felix out of the water, and none of that would have happened.

"That's what I thought." She sighed, "I was devastated when Kyle died... I felt so alone... It's taken some time, but I'm better now." She smiled. "I still have you Isaac. You're seventeen years old now. You're so much like your father when he was young. I'm looking forward to seeing where life takes you."

"MA'AAAM!!" A girl's voice suddenly called out interrupting them. It was Jenna.

Jenna climber up the ladder and onto the roof to greet them.

"Hello, Jenna." Dora said.

"Good morning." Jenna replied.

Another red haired boy climbed up the ladder behind Jenna and stood on the roof with them. The four of them stood on the thatched roof together.

"Well... if it isn't Garet, too!" Dora exclaimed. "Where do you all plan to go today?" She asked.

"Kraden's taking us to see Mount Aleph." Garet replied, before Jenna could say anything.

"Mountain climbing with Kraden, eh? Kids and their games..." Dora replied with a grin, shaking her head

"No!" interrupted Jenna "It's not a game! It's part of our studies..."

"Ah, yes... Alchemy." She interrupted, "Alchemy is the foundation of all Psynergy. And you all know that Mount Aleph is where the secret to unlocking Alchemy is." They all nodded in agreement. It was because of the power of Alchemy in Mount Aleph that all the villagers of Vale had Psynergy abilities. Its power seemed to radiate out to them. Alchemy was the source of Psynergy.

"And they say that Kraden is the best teacher around, even if he is a foreigner." She shook her head, visibly vexed, "Alchemy... I wonder what use it all is?" She looked at Isaac. "You know, I would rather see you just grow up to be a happy, ordinary man."

"But I can't let Garet or Jenna become better than I am, can I?" Isaac replied humorously. "And Kraden knows so much about Alchemy; it would be a waste not to learn from him."

"I suppose you still want to go?" She asked.

"Of course, I don't want to miss out." He replied with a smile on his face.

"Well then, I guess nothing will persuade you! You're just as stubborn as your father." She smiled at him, "I suppose you'd better get going, then. I'm sure Master Kraden is waiting for you."

Isaac started for the ladder. "I'll see you later!" He called out.

"Goodbye Ma'am." Jenna said as she followed.

"I'll make sure to bring back Isaac safe and sound!" Garet joked, as he descended the ladder.

They said their farewells and the trio left. Kraden's house was across the river on the western side, and just outside of the village, by itself. Kraden had chosen to use the house as it had been abandoned for years, and offered plenty of solitude from the peaceful village, where, he could conduct his studies of Mount Aleph and Alchemy, although he often gave lectures and teachings to Isaac, Garet and Jenna, and began to refer to them as his 'students'.

Even though he was an outsider, the residents of Vale had quickly come to accept him when he arrived two years ago, from some far away place called Tolbi, and announced he would like to move in for a while to further his studies.

Normally the people of Vale refused to allow anyone to find out about their Psynergy abilities, but Kraden was very knowledgeable, and already knowing much of Alchemy, soon figured out the truth about Vales people. Once they learned that he intended to remain and not tell anyone about their secrets, they let him stay in peace. He was probably the only foreign person ever to move into Vale.

The three of the quickly began chatting as they made their way to Kraden's house. As they crossed the bridge, Isaac got a good view of the old dock along the rivers west coast. Jenna's old home before the accident. It was the only part of the village that had never gotten repaired. There was just something about it that you couldn't want to change. It was sort of just left there as an odd mark of respect. Nobody ever touched it and when merchants visited the village nobody ever really wanted to talk about it. So it was just left there, and nothing ever got done about it.

Memories of that night flashed through Isaac's head, but he ignored them. Today was the anniversary of his dad's death. Crushed by a boulder, and drowned in a raging river. If only he had been able to save them...

Choosing to ignore the bad memories, Isaac and his friends passed through the village, excitedly talking about what it would be like to finally climb up Mount Aleph and see all its wonders up close. It had taken weeks of begging and pleading with the Elders to finally let them up there, but they had finally decided that they had progressed far enough in their training to go up there. They had initially, after the accident, been reluctant to let anyone go up there at all, but after careful investigation, they decided that there was no inherent danger for anyone climbing the mountain.

They continued walking through the village. As they did, they ran into Sab walking down the street. He had always felt a bit ashamed at not being able to help them those three years ago, but no one held him responsible. It couldn't be helped of course, no one was to blame, and it wasn't his fault they had died. But still, he had never really been able to forgive himself.

But now, it seemed he was just glad to have found them.

"Thank goodness I found you!" He cried, "I suppose you haven't heard yet, have you?"

"Heard what?" Isaac asked, not knowing what exactly he was referring to.

"Some outsiders have arrived in town just this morning." He replied, "A group of four, strange looking, even as foreigners go. They've been here for a few hours already. They might be walking around, so try to make sure you don't go using any Psynergy, okay?"

They all agreed without a fuss, they knew how important it was to keep the secrets of Vale's villagers safe. Outsiders arriving in Vale were rare, but they did happen occasionally. Usually some merchant hoping to make a profit, or some traveller wanting to explore the mountain, but disappointed when they found that it was forbidden. But they all left quickly when they found that there wasn't anything interesting in Vale.

Word about outsiders always spread quickly, not because of its rarity, but because of the potential danger. The secret of Psynergy must never leave the village, so they couldn't ever use it in front of outsiders, and children were always kept indoors for the duration of their stay. Isaac was glad they hadn't seen him before up on the roof of his house. But it didn't matter to the three would be Adepts now. They would be outside of the village on the mountain all day and be too tired to be doing anything by the time they got back.

But Isaac had to ask more about them. He and Garet had an urge to know more.

"Where do they come from? What do they look like?" He asked out of curiosity, not quite knowing why he was so eager to know.

"I don't really know where they come from," Sab shrugged in response, "Not that we'd know it even if they told us, but as for the way they look, well... they're a bit weird. They all kept their hoods up all the time so we couldn't see their faces. One was wearing a mask on his face for some reason." Sab shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he had a terrible scar he doesn't want anyone to see. Anyway, just be careful, you're all old enough to be outdoors with outsiders around, but be careful!"

They promised they would and he left to tell others of the arrival of strangers. They continued strolling through the village chatting.

"It's been a while since we had any visitors in Vale." Isaac mused.

"Ah, who cares?" Garet scoffed, "We'll be out all day so we won't see 'em. Besides, They'll probably leave before we do see them, so what does it matter?"

"Still, it would be interesting to see if they would be willing to tell us about the outside world." Jenna ventured, "There's nothing in Vale except for boring old Mount Aleph and Sol Sanctum, which we can't even enter. I'll bet there are probably some real interesting sights out there in Weyard."

"Yeah, I'd love to go out and see the world someday." Isaac replied, "It would be a great journey to take. But instead, we just have to put up with climbing up Mount Aleph."

"I wonder what we'll find up there." Jenna questioned, "It must be interesting if the Elders forbid anyone from climbing up there without their permission."

"It's probably nothing interesting," Garet shrugged, "I'll bet you it's just a mountain like any other. I want to know what's inside Sol Sanctum, in the forbidden part of the mountain, inside Mount Aleph. It must be important if the Elders have sealed it off, and have sworn to protect it."

"It's probably some insanely powerful weapon used back in the last days of the Lost Age." Isaac suggested, "During that big war that nearly ended all of Weyard."

"You mean the Alchemy War?" Jenna asked, remembering some of what Kraden had told them, "But Kraden says that it was the power of the weapons used in that war that made the wise ones decide to seal away Alchemy. Alchemy was too powerful, apparently. That's the whole reason why no-one but the Elders can enter Sol Sanctum. To prevent people from using its secret power."

"Yeah, but wouldn't it be great if we did get to use such things?" Garet interjected excitedly, "Even if they are dangerous? They must have invented some pretty great things back then."

"I think that's why Sol Sanctum is supposed to be booby trapped." Isaac told him, "and the reason why the Elders don't allow anyone up near it. To prevent people from using such things"

"Who cares about what's in Sol Sanctum anyway," Garet said dismissing the hypothesised weapons, "us fire Adepts don't need such things anyway. We are by nature walking, talking, living weapons." He stuck his chest out proudly for emphasis.

"That's right," Jenna added, goading Isaac, "No one could stand up to the fury of a Mars Clan army of old. Remember hearing how they could scorch the earth? Create huge explosions, spewing fire and magma, and annihilate any enemy they came across?"

"You forget to mention the part about being soundly defeated by an army of mere Water Adepts of the Mercury Clan, in battle against an army only half your size." Isaac challenged the Mars Adept, "Soldiers who were more skilled with healing than fighting. You hotheads aren't the greatest warriors after all."

"Well, I don't recall any stories of the Venus Clan achieving great things!" Garet retorted.

"You obviously didn't hear them with that thick skull of yours." Isaac replied deftly and proudly, "Venus Clan soldiers created huge earthquakes scattering their enemies with ease and crushing them with the might of the earth, creating huge gaps in the ground under their opponent's feet." He started raising his hands in the air to emphasise the point.

"They were great defenders and very noble, more than all the other clans. They were the greatest leaders and could forge the greatest and most powerful of all weapons!"

"Yeah, wouldn't it be great if I had the chance to use some of them!" Garet began, his eyes glazing over as he focused on the dream world. Isaac smacked him playfully on the back of the head, bringing him back to reality.

"Garet, forget it." He told him, "All that stuff was lost, just like almost everything else from the Lost Age, when they sealed away Alchemy, and you aren't ever going to find anything."

They continued to pass through the lightly forested parts of the foothills of Mount Aleph.

"Yet these powerful weapons you supposedly made didn't really help you defeat the Jupiter Clan, it's told." Jenna said to him, "according to the legends, you 'Great Leaders' were supposedly defeated by an army of speedy, cunning soldiers wielding the weak power of the wind. They were able to second-guess every move you made. And you call yourself warriors?" She finished by poking her tongue out at him. She had finally got him back for his comment about Mars being defeated by Mercury.

"All right, let's just drop the whole subject about which element is better, okay?" Isaac replied with a shrug of his shoulders, clearly defeated.

They'd had this argument many times before, even before they found out which element their abilities were aligned with, when Felix was still with them, and they would guess as to what type of Adept they would be when they grew up. They were just playing with one another, really. Jenna and Garet always liked teasing the lone Venus Adept, and he always countered the Mars Adepts with claims that they were hotheads who couldn't think for themselves, which was sometimes close to the truth.

They began talking about what they would like to do once they had completed their training in using Psynergy, when they seen two strangers up ahead on the track. Their voices sounded familiar, but Isaac couldn't figure out why.

The two strangers rounded the corner and the trio could see what they looked like. One of them was a man in blue armour and hair and bluish skin that seemed almost scaly and the other was a woman with long blonde hair hanging down to her waist who was wearing a red dress and had pale skin with odd markings on her face. They looked unlike anything he had seen before.

They seemed so strongly familiar to him, yet he couldn't figure out where they came from. It was like a strange feeling of deja vu as he watched the two. Obviously they were two of those four strangers who had arrived in Vale that morning.

The two strangers didn't at first notice them as they strolled down the path quietly conversing with one another.

"They seem to know little of Sol Sanctum's mysteries." the man said to his partner as they walked down the dirt path. "The Elders of Vale must not permit anyone to enter it, not even Kraden."

"Kraden..." the women mused to her companion, "Do you think we can use him?"

"Hmm... his knowledge is no meagre thing..." The man admitted, "We can use him. If he were willing to cooperate, that is."

"But he's more stubborn than we had expected of him..." She stated sounding slightly irritated and shaking her head.

"And cunning too..." He replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Cunning beyond measure."

"If he won't go willingly with us," she stated, unwillingly with a reluctant sigh, "Then we can always..."

It was then that the man with the blue skin noticed them and stopped.

"Hey, you there," He called to them in a surprised voice, interrupting his female companion, "What are you doing?" The women turned clearly just as surprised to see them there.

"What are we doing?" Garet replied defensively, "What's it to you?"

"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" The women demanded indignantly.

"No, we were just passing by," Isaac said cautiously, not wanting to get them angry, "It's not like we weren't trying to listen to you or anything."

"Oh, so you did hear us talking!" Said the women slightly surprised by his admission, but sounding more than a little aggravated, "Well, we can't allow you to continue your spying!"

"Hey, we weren't 'spying'!" Jenna said to them in an angry tone, "We just happened to be walking past while you were talking!"

"Hey! What are you getting so paranoid for?" Garet added aggressively, "What, are you trying to sneak around or something?"

"Sneaking..." The man said, sounding slightly offended, "Who are you to accuse me!"

"Hey, we're just on our way to see Kraden." Isaac told them calmly, trying to defuse the situation. Why did they seem so familiar?

"So if you would be so kind as to get out of our way...?" Jenna asked them in an uppity way.

Suddenly the women's face lit up. "So you're the ones who Kraden was meeting with."

"Yeah," Jenna spoke up "we're off to meet him right now as a matter of fact." She said folding her arms across her chest. Garet did the same, sticking out his chin trying to make himself look even bigger. They were going to get into a fight with this sort of attitude.

"Fine, then." The man shrugged, "If your errand is more important than our own then... go." He said dismissing them with his hand, as though they weren't worth the effort.

"Are you sure, Saturos?" The women asked, sounding slightly concerned. Saturos? Was that his name? "What if they tell..."

"Menardi," The man, Saturos, interrupted quickly, "We have no reason to delay these children any further."

"Let's just go, Isaac." Garet suggested, pulling on his friends arm urging him to go.

The women, Menardi was it? She didn't say anything, but glared at them for a moment, the left with Saturos down the path. The two strangers quickly disappeared down the path, and the three young Adepts continued on their way to Kraden's.

Why had they been so uptight about them hearing their conversation? And what exactly were they talking about? Something didn't seem right.

"What was their problem?" Jenna asked no one in particular. "It's not like they were talking about anything private! So arrogant! What could they be doing that is so secret? It's not like they mentioned anything that we weren't allowed to hear."

"Jenna," Isaac began "I don't know... they sound almost like they're up to something, maybe we should be careful of them. It's probably nothing, but I have a bad feeling about them. Their anger at us hearing them was a bit suspicious." Maybe they were up to something.

"Why?" Jenna replied a bit miffed "I think that they just wanted to know about Sol Sanctum, and were just angry because Kraden wouldn't tell them much. You know how he's not supposed to talk about Vale with strangers." She stomped furiously and continued walking. Isaac hated seeing her when she was like this. She was much better to be around when she was in a nice mood.

Garet didn't say anything. Even he knew it was better not to get involved when she was in this mood. Isaac just followed her quietly deciding now was not the time to rouse her anger. He kept thinking of why those two, Saturos and Menardi, would be talking to them in that way. What was it about what they had said that they didn't want others to hear? Something about them tugged at a memory, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was. Something long ago... he started to remember...

The memories started slowly coming back. He remembered seeing them that day, on top of the cliff. What they had said to one another. They had been in Sol Sanctum for some reason, and set off a trap that summoned the storm. The awesome power of Alchemy... How they attacked him and Garet when they found out that they had heard everything. That was what had happened. It was a trap that they had triggered in the Sanctum that created the storm. The storm that had taken away four innocent lives.

"It was them." Isaac said softly, not realising he'd spoken aloud, until Jenna turned and spoke to him.

"What was them?" She asked. Garet turned to look at him. Judging by the expression on his face he hadn't heard Isaac's unintended comment, nor had he yet remembered about those two strangers. But then, he probably hadn't thought about it too much either. He tended to only pay attention to the here and now.

"Oh nothing." Isaac replied, trying to dismiss the subject.

"No, what did you mean by that?" She asked stubbornly.

How could I tell her? He thought to himself. How could he say that it was Saturos and Menardi's fault that they had started the storm that had killed her entire family? He didn't want to hurt her feelings like that; he cared for her too much. It was still as great a loss for her as for him. He decided that now was not the time to bring up old memories. He just couldn't bring himself to.

For now, he intended to stay out of the way of those strangers. Isaac was sure that not even all three of them could have defeated the awesome power that those two had wielded. It would probably take more might than all the Elders of Vale to over power them.

"I was just saying that they were two of those strangers that arrived this morning." Isaac lied to her.

"Well, obviously!" Garet said to him, turning away and walking down the track, "I think that was at least a bit obvious."

Jenna turned and continued to Kraden's house, which was now in sight.

"Honestly Isaac, you're getting more unobservant than Garet here!" She told him.

"Hey, I heard that!" Garet shouted over his shoulder.

"That's typical of the Venus Adepts, though. Too hard headed to see what's in front of their own eyes." Jenna remarked cheekily.

"Oh, don't start that argument again!" Isaac sighed, racing to catch up to them.

"Well, here we are at Kraden's house!" Garet said, preventing an argument developing.

They walked up to Kraden's house and saw him outside his front door pacing back and forth irritable and muttering to himself as he sometimes did when he was thinking heavily.

Kraden was the very image of a scholar who was smart, but always to busy with his studies to bother with his appearance. He had unkempt grey hair and beard. He was wearing a brown robe that probably didn't get washed as much as it should. And he wore these strange things in front of his eyes called "glasses" which no one in Vale had ever seen before. He claimed they helped him to see and read better, but Isaac couldn't understand how they worked. Even though he knew so much about Alchemy and Psynergy, he wasn't even an Adept, just a normal person from some far away land that none of them had ever heard of before.

"Just who were they?" The Alchemy Sage muttered, "They already know too much about Sol Sanctum... things that even the Elders of Vale don't know. And what were they saying about the elements? The elements of Alchemy... Earth, Water, Fire and Wind... They plan to set them into motion?" He paused for a moment.

"And the four elemental stars are the keys? What do they want? What were they getting at? Maybe... no, they couldn't be..." It was then that he noticed Isaac and the gang there.

Kraden had been talking with those two. About Alchemy? This was getting interesting...

"Oh, Isaac!" He exclaimed, noticing the trio and interrupting Isaac's thoughts.

"You look like something's bothering you." Jenna said to the old scholar.

"Me? Ah well..." Kraden began, staring down the path.

"It's those two isn't it?" Garet guessed, "Saturos and Menardi were their names, right?"

"Are they still out there?" He sighed, "They're very persistent..."

"Did they want something from you Kraden?" Jenna inquired.

"That seems to be the case..." He said drifting off, stroking his bushy grey beard.

"Seems to be?" Isaac asked. "What exactly were they talking about with you?"

"Mount Aleph and Sol Sanctum..." He replied, drifting off for a moment before resuming, "They spoke as if they'd seen them with their own eyes...isn't that strange?"

Remembered memories came back into his head.

"Err... yeah..." Isaac said, remembering Saturos and Menardi talking about actually being in there.

That switch, it must have been a trap. Saturos words echoed in Isaac's memory. Regardless, we must not fail the next time we challenge Sol Sanctum. What had they been looking for? What was in there that they wanted?

"Yes, you can't enter Sol Sanctum without direct permission from the Elders of Vale." Kraden continued stroking his grey beard, interrupting Isaac's memory.

"They must have snuck in" Jenna exclaimed, "and if they were breaking into the Sanctum, then they might be thieves!"

"We should go tell the Elders and the other villagers!" Garet added excitedly.

Jenna and Garet turned to go but Kraden stopped them.

"Wait everyone! I still don't know how accurate the things they told me were. We can do nothing until we confirm what they told me."

"Then, what should we do?" Isaac asked.

"Well, we go confirm it." Kraden stated matter-of-factly, "Find out if what they said about Sol Sanctum's interior is true and what they intend to steal, if anything, from there."

"Do you mean we should go into Sol Sanctum ourselves?" Garet asked, taken aback.

"That's impossible!" Isaac added.

Enter Sol Sanctum? If the Elders found out, they would never forgive them. But then, Isaac reasoned, it would be interesting to know what was in there.

"Why would it be impossible to get in there?" Kraden chuckled, "Just because climbing Mount Aleph is forbidden?"

"Well...yes, the Elders would never give us their permission." Isaac answered.

"We're just going to see if they've been to the mountain." The old scholar replied, "Surely that would be acceptable."

That seemed alright, Isaac figured. They were only looking, they wouldn't touch anything. Just to prove that those strangers were up to no good. Then the Elders would banish the strangers from Vale. Simple. That would solve the problem of these two strangers poking their noses where they weren't welcome.

"We'll be fine if the Elders don't find out, right?" Garet asked, looking for reassurance.

"Of course." replied Isaac, "There's nothing to worry about, just a quick look. I'm sure the Elders will understand if Kraden explains it all."

"This will have to be just our little secret." Jenna told them, "At least, until we've told the Elders that we discovered thieves trying to break into the sacred Sanctum."

"Then it's decided!" Kraden exclaimed, "This is our best bet. Just wait one second."

He ran inside his house, immediately searching for something amidst all the clutter that was around. There were various books scattered about everywhere, and all sorts of specimens of various things from around Weyard inside glass tubes. The sounds of him searching through the clutter on his desk could be heard and after while he emerged again, seemingly satisfied that he'd found what he was looking for.

"Alright then, let's go!" He told them.

Okay then, sorry to end it there, but it was just getting too long, and I couldn't be bothered continuing. Besides, Sol Sanctum should be done in one chpater to itself, not mashed together with all this inane stuff. A lot of this chapter was probably pointless, but now the story begins to get good (and relevant). So, stick with me (please?) the story is about to get rolling!

Please leave a review on your way out, thank you!