The gentle waves of the ocean moved in a rhythm that calmed Amelia down as she stood on the deck of the crown ship "Justice". Decked out in her princess gown that she would wear for formal affairs of state, Amelia couldn't help but pout. Her father had kicked her out of the lower decks to be with "Cara", a mysterious woman that showed up to the court of Seyruun a few months ago.
"Daddy didn't have to go out of his way to ignore me," pouted Amelia, resting her head in her hands, a look of pure annoyance on her face.
Ever since the first day Cara showed up to the city of Seyruun, Amelia couldn't shake the heeby-jeeby feeling the woman gave off. She came claiming to be a practitioner of the White arts, a cleric from some vague order off in the hinterlands of the continent. Her credentials seemed to check out okay, but what Amelia didn't appreciate was how she seemed to make a beeline for her father.
"Well maybe I should just be glad that Daddy is happy. Ever since mom died…" thought Amelia, a subtle depression sinking into her mind. It had been many long years since her mother passed away, and Amelia clearly remembers the day despite the fact it happened while she was very young…
It was a silent day in all of Seyruun. All the stores had closed, all the streets had emptied, and everyone stood solemnly in the Cathedral of the Eternal Dragon. White carnations filled the room with a pleasant scent, with white banners emblazoned with the Seyruun coat of arms hung all about the room. King Phil walked down the pure white carpet holding his young daughter Amelia's hand. Amelia looked up at her fathers face, a stolid stone like thing that she had never witnessed before. Looking deeper, his eyes seemed to glisten, barely able to hold back some type of deep sorrow. Amelia thought to herself how she had never seen her father like that, and never wanted to again. They made their way to the front of the cathedral, the priest chanting some unintelligible hymn in the ancient tongue. The coffin was open, and Amelia peaked up to see the quiet, motionless visage of her mother. Tears welling up in the young girls eyes, she hid herself in the folds of her father's cape.
Amelia came back to reality when she heard her father laughing boisterously at something Cara must have said. The woman seemed clinged to Phil's arm for dear life, and Amelia noted to herself never once was she not around her father.
"Oh that is a good one Cara, you are so funny!"
"Oh that's because you have such a good sense of humor darling…" Cara replied, playfully rubbing Phil's chest.
"Darling? Don't you think it's a little early to be calling each …?"
"Oh don't worry. I'm sure no one minds, and besides, it makes me feel closer to you," quipped Cara, her smile radiant.
Amelia couldn't stand watching it any longer. Cara, with her long tressettes of fire red hair and pale skin, looked like an evil enchantress out of a storybook as far as Amelia was concerned.
"How could father let himself be taken in by one who clearly is not on the side of justice and truth!" thought Amelia, furious at the entire situation.
"Oh Amelia!" yelled out Phil as he waved towards his daughter. Cara couldn't help but sneer every time Amelia came near. The two women simply looked at each other, bolts of invisible lightning streaking towards each other.
"Yes father? Are we almost back at Seyruun yet? These long boat trips are starting to get to me," said Amelia ignoring Cara for a moment to look at her father.
"You know we have to make these little diplomatic missions to our allies so that they know that Seyruun stands for Justice and Truth!" said Phil raising a single finger upward, breaking into one of his standard courageous poses.
"Everyone knows Seyruun is a beacon of light and justice in the world dear. I think what's more important now is for Seyruun to…receive the aid of our friends to help further our cause…" said Cara, gently lowering Phil's hand and smiling at him. Phil blushed and smiled nervously, seemingly bewitched by Cara's feminine wiles. Amelia's face grew red, steam coming out of her ears.
"Why don't you run along now and play with your toys, the adults have things to talk about," slyly retorted Cara, looking down at Amelia and talking in her usual condescending, haughty tone.
"I'm not a child!" yelled Amelia, almost at the point of tearing her hair out.
"Well we do need some alone time before we get back, run along now Amelia," said Phil, waving his daughter off while he focused his full attention on Cara.
That was the last straw for Amelia, who immediately stormed off totally pissed.
"Why did she have to meddle her way into my life! Why can't father see her for who she really is! AGGHH! Adults can be so stupid!" lamented Amelia in her thoughts as she stormed off to the opposite side of the ship to look at the ocean. She could see the glistening city of Seyruun in the distance, and couldn't wait to get back home.
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Lina and her entourage finally arrived at Seyruun and stabled their horses. Vargas knelt to one knee and prayed for a moment, only to stand back up and take a look over the city.
"Oh it's been far too long," Vargas said, wistfully looking upwards at the towers of the palace.
"You've been here before?" asked Lina.
"Oh of course, I used to be a cleric before I decided that the shaman arts were more to my liking. Anyone who studies white magic eventually has to come here if they want to be any good at all, Lina."
"Maybe you should look into studying here some time Lina. White magic has its rewards you know," piped in Filia, giving Lina a predatory smile.
"Meh, White magic doesn't have the oomph that I'm looking for. It's all just a bunch of moaning, chants, and stuffy priests. Now black magic is where it's at! When someone pisses you off, BAM, you can blow them sky high!" giggled Lina, her love for destruction bubbling to the surface.
"Maybe it's for the best Filia. If anyone could find a way to heal someone to death, it'd be her," said Vargas, slyly sliding over to Filia and whispering into her ear.
"I HEARD THAT! I'M NOT DEAF YOU KNOW!" wailed Lina as she hit Vargas over the head with a comically sized mallet.
"Now now, let's just stop fighting and remember why we're here," chimed in Gourry, trying to calm Lina down.
"Of course Gourry. We've got to find out whose orb this is!" replied Lina holding up the glass orb with the coat of arms of the kingdom of Seyruun.
"I thought we were here for Seyruun's world famous sea salt ice cream" remarked Gourry, clearly dejected at the thought of not getting his favorite treat.
Lina's brain was in pain, trying to process how any human being could possibly be so stupid. She immediately whapped him over the head, sending him plummeting to the ground.
"Whoever it is they're definitely linked to the sleeping princesses…" remarked Filia.
"And the Tears of Katarasu. Well let's not just stand around here, let's go bust down the palace and blast whoever is doing this!" exclaimed Lina, marching triumphantly into the city. All her friends sighed deeply in unison.
"Where should we start looking? I'm sure if the person we're looking for is here they'd take the time to hide themselves," said Vargas.
"Well I thought we'd pay Amelia a visit and see if she knows of anything suspicious. She may be a hero freak but she's no fool," replied Lina.
The gang first headed to the Chapel of the Eternal Dragon, a place that brought back memories to Lina when she battled Mazenda back during the crisis of Phil's assassination. Lina reflected on how the city of supreme holiness also seemed to be a magnet for villains and monsters.
"And now I'm right back here in the middle of it," she thought to herself, sighing.
The Chapel of the Eternal Dragon was the leading repository of white magic spells in the entire continent. Funded by Seyruun royalty for over 600 years, the hallowed halls were a vast repertoire of magical knowledge. Entering the chapel, Lina and her friends were in awe at the ancient building.
"I've never seen such a place," said Filia in awe.
"Well it's no Golden Dragon Temple but we dinky humans sure know how to do our buildings up right," remarked Lina slapping Filia on the back.
"How are we going to find any clues though?" asked Vargas.
"Well think of it this way, maybe the headmaster here has noticed someone snooping around. The magic on this thing," said Lina taking out the orb, "is some serious stuff and I'd find it very hard to believe anybody would just happen to know how to make this without any guidance."
"Agreed, let's go ask the headmaster," said Filia smiling.
Walking their way through the quiet halls of the temple, Lina eventually came across a lone annex. There, a very tall man clad in white priest robes was alone, praying within the rays of a single beam of sun that shone down from the ceiling.
"Umm excuse me…" said Lina tapping the wall gently.
"Oh, ah, excuse me, I was just doing some reflection. I am Ardomis, headmaster of this temple and white magic school. What can I do for you," said Ardomis as he stood up and walked over to Lina and her friends. Ardomis' face lit up upon catching sight of Vargas.
"Vargas! It's been ages old friend!"
"Ardomis how are you! It's been too long!" replied Vargas as the two men heartily shaked hands.
"You two know each other?" asked Gourry.
"Of course, I said I studied here! Ardomis was my personal instructor in the White arts. Oh those were the days weren't they?"
"Yes Vargas, I remember when you studied here. You spent most of your studying energy on the female clerics though…" replied Ardomis slyly.
"Umm…well…yes…I supposes," replied Vargas embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.
"Well we were wondering if this spell would be familiar to you at all. Take a look at this," said Lina holding up the orb.
"Hmm, this is a strange spell indeed. It's unlike anything I've ever seen…" said Ardomis quizzically, staring at the invisible magical field surrounding the orb.
"We were hoping you might be able to help us figure out who could put this type of spell on here," said Filia.
"Well like I said I've never seen this type of magic before…but…now that you mention it…there was someone in here last week who was asking about old books from our arcane library."
"Your arcane library? I've never heard of that," said Vargas.
"Well it's kind of a little secret myself and the other priests keep. It houses a lot of ancient texts from the War of the Monsters Fall, over 1000 years ago as you all know. A lot of the texts down there are untranslated."
"Relics from that war? There might be some powerful magic down there," said Vargas, looking towards his comrades.
"Well it won't be of much use to you. The language most of the scrolls is written in has no record in any other historical text," replied Ardomis.
"Maybe Filia can make it all out," said Lina.
"Well I can try…" Filia said blushing.
"That's the spirit! Now lead the way Ardy my man!" exclaimed Lina triumphantly.
"We can't have you all snooping in unwanted places now can we," said a voice, cackling.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" exclaimed Lina.
The shadows near a bookcase seemed to coalesce into a humanoid form. A cloaked figure wielding a scythe jumped up to the top of the bookcase and pointed his scythe threateningly at Lina.
"Well it seems the rat has finally come out of the woodwork…" she said, grinning.