Chapter XI: The Day Star Approaches
LES: Back to the story! And just for reference, so I don't have to put this in the middle of the story, I use the phrase 'chain-yawn'. This is when someone yawns and then someone else yawns even if they aren't tired. I call this phenomena a chain-yawn.
Jak moved back into Spargus proper, and it was getting pretty dark, and it was cooling down to a balmy ninety degrees.
Daxter yawned loudly and Jak, unable to resist the power of the chain-yawn, followed suit.
"I think it's time to crash." Daxter said in a sleepy sort of way.
Jak didn't say anything at first. Daxter thought that Jak would say he wasn't tired, like he did so many times before on his previous adventure when he had been plagued with nightmares whenever he closed his eyes, he would barely sleep once a week, and then only for a few hours. That didn't count the week when he was in a coma and near death. "That sounds like a great idea." Jak said suddenly. "It's been a long day."
He moved to his quarters, which were close by. He opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind him. He made a familiar move to lock the door when he remembered there were no locks.
"How am I supposed to feel safe with no locks on the door and no gun under my pillow?" Jak asked. "How many locks did my apartment back in Haven have?"
"Five." Daxter answered automatically. "And that's not counting the one that is standard issue for every door, so that's really six locks. Then you always had a small pistol under your pillow, not to mention your instant Dark weapons and your Dark side."
"Both are useless to me in sleep." Jak said.
"Hey, that kid said there was no crime here." Daxter said.
"I highly doubt there is no crime in a city composed largely of thieves and murderers." Jak said.
"Hey don't worry about those amateurs." Daxter said. "Practically everything you own is stolen… even your clothes. And don't forget, you have the highest murder count for a single man in history!"
"I guess you're right." Jak sighed. "We could be stuck out here a long time, so I'd better just get used to it."
"The way of life…"
"And the damn heat too." Jak hissed. Then, as if to sharply contrast the moment, his entire being softened as he walked over towards the simple bed. He only took the time to remove objects that would be painful to sleep on. Then he fell down of the bed and fell asleep with incredible swiftness.
Daxter climbed up on the bed, and curled up, cat-like, at the foot of the bed. He quickly followed Jak's example and soon was drifting off into Dreamland.
Several weeks passed, mostly uneventful. Jak spent most of his time on the roof of the flat, sitting in the direct sunlight in an attempt to get used to the extreme heat of the desert.
It took several days of Jak nearly getting heat stroke before he found the sun didn't bother him as much. Delighted, he continued this practice until he could easily withstand even the hottest of days, which could get as hot as a hundred and twenty.
The kid was right. A hundred and ten is nice weather in the Wasteland. Jak's climate preference had successfully shifted to withstand the hot, arid environment. This would prove to be a problem should he decide to head back to Haven, which seemed less and less likely to Daxter.
It happened slowly, but Daxter noticed a change in Jak. The elf had taken a special liking to the Desert City, one that he never felt for Haven. Sure, Jak never denied that he was born there, but he was starting to consider Spargus his home. Spargus was a place where Jak, and people like him, could live life the way they saw fit, fighting off Marauders and the occasional Metal-Head patrol. It was truly a warrior town, and Jak was quickly welcomed into the fold, all except for two people. The mysterious monk and Kleiver, who on three separate occasions had tried to get Jak to part with Daxter for his dinner. But Daxter had made it exceptionally clear that if Jak ever bet his life on something again, he would introduce him to his claws. And while Daxter's claws were not nearly as frightening as Dark's claws, Jak had no wish to get attacked by an angry Ottsel.
Soon, Jak was walking aimlessly through the City when he heard someone walk up behind him. "You are still here?"
Jak looked around. He saw the weird monk dismounting a Leaper Lizard. "Yeah, we thought we'd hang out, catch some rays, get a tan…" Jak said.
"This isn't a game!" The monk said angrily. "The fate of our planet is possibly riding on the next few months!"
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Jak said. "Who are you, anyway? Even monks have names."
The monk didn't say anything for several seconds before she answered. "I am Seem."
"What's with the Leaper?" Jak asked as some more male monks rode up on Leapers. They all glared at the 'Dark One.'
"We use these to reach our island home." Seem said. "They allow us to travel where you alone cannot."
"Don't be too sure of that." Jak's eyes narrowed. "What you saw in the arena weeks ago… that wasn't even half of my powers."
Daxter wasn't listening to this old argument, he was staring at the Leaper. "Man, those babies sure stuff their faces. We saw one gulp a load of Kanga rats right after the arena fight! Stupid rats! They just sat there and…" Suddenly the Leaper attacked Daxter. Apparently, the dumb animal had decided that Daxter looked appetizing.
"You'll never last out here." Seem said to Jak. "That Dark Eco Crystal from the Satellite… I want it before it falls into the… wrong hands." Jak knew that she was speaking of him. "I normally don't like to gamble something so important, but I must get that crystal. I'll wager a Light Crystal against it if you race my monk brothers on their Leapers."
"Uh…" Jak said, watching Daxter, who was halfway in the Leaper's mouth.
Seem rolled her eyes. "Wulm Luhvza Rszoqvsvz." Jak understood that she said 'Drop Orange Lightning.' The Leaper Lizard instantly spat out the Ottsel. "Qohvb flk. Thank you." She bowed to the Lizard.
Daxter got off the ground, saliva dripping from his fur. "Just show us where the starting line is!"
"The starting line is here." Seem said. "The finish line is in the bazaar. Use the fastest way you can." She turned to her brother monks and began to speak to them in the Ancient Language loudly. Apparently, she didn't believe that Jak could understand her perfectly. "Hua flk uahwf? Are you ready?"
"Na nsrr vlq wsihyylsvq lku Oszo Yusaiqaii. We will not disappoint our High Priestess." One said.
Jak frowned. "I can understand you, you know."
Seem blinked and stared. "You understand the Ancient Language?"
"Mrkauqrf. Fluently." Jak said.
Seems seemed surprised that a tainted Dark Monster like Jak could understand and speak the Ancient Language.
Jak rolled his eyes. "I used to worship the Precursors too… before all this happened to me."
"But you don't believe in our creators now?" Seem's eyes narrowed. There was nothing a Precursor monk hated more than non-believers.
"I believe that the Precursors exist as a race." Jak said. "Not as gods. They made mistakes just like the rest of us."
Seem didn't say anything, but her monks took over. "What do you know…" One spoke up in the common language. "The Dark One is a non-believer. Who is surprised by that?" The monks laughed.
"What more could one expect from an uncivilized monster?" Another one spoke, the rest laughed harder. "Animals don't believe in the Precursors either."
Jak had to clench his jaws to stop a stream of profanity that would probably make the monk's heads explode.
Daxter, however, didn't have such reservations as Jak. "Why you evil, evil people! How dare you talk that way about my friend! You can take your godly Precursors and shove 'em up your…"
"Dax." Jak interrupted when he had calmed down. "Don't say it. It's all right. It's not like I'm not used to insults."
Daxter stopped his rude comment rather reluctantly. "Whatever you say, buddy."
Jak took the reigns of a near by Leaper Lizard and jumped into the saddle. "I'll show you what this Dark Eco Freak can do." Jak hissed.
"Hmm… soon, we'll see." Seem said.
Two minutes later, Jak reached the small bazaar first. The Leaper skidded to a halt. "Oh yeah!" Jak exclaimed. There was nothing quite like proving vindictive monks wrong.
Another monk pulled up. "Ha! We kicked your scaly tails!" Daxter laughed and pointed at the monk. Another monk pulled up and almost hit Jak, whether on purpose or on accident, Jak was never sure. "Back off, ya filthy animal!" Daxter yelled at it.
Seem rode up on her Leaper. "Fine, hero, the Light Crystal is yours." She said.
"When you say 'Light' you mean 'Light Eco', right?" Jak asked.
"Certainly." Seems said. "Not that you'd understand the wonders of pure Light Eco."
"You'd be surprised." Jak said. Daxter knew what Jak was talking about. Jak had once channeled Light Eco to destroy Gol and Maia in their Precursor robot. He had been only seventeen at the time, and so naive.
Jak remembered the moment too, but not as well as he once had. He remembered how the Sages combined their Eco powers to create the glowing Eco, how he managed to grab some at the last second… He could barely remember how the Eco felt. The memory had been dulled by pain. But he remembered how he thought it felt. He remembered thinking that it was the most wonderful feeling he had ever felt.
Seem took out a glowing crystal and passed it to Jak. He noticed that the crystal burned slightly against his skin. Dark didn't like the crystal. It shrank away from it, snarling. 'What the hell is that?' It demanded.
"The two most powerful Ecos, Light and Dark, when combined form great energies." Jak handed the crystal to Daxter to get rid of the burning. "Be careful with them!" She hissed. "And when you die, do be kind enough to give them back."
"I don't plan on it." Jak said, and then he glared at Seem. "Why are you so obsessed with death?"
"Because of that." Seem pointed up in the sky and Jak followed her finger. She was pointing that the strange purple star that Jak had seen earlier. But… was it a star? Stars don't shine in the middle of the day.
Daxter voiced Jak's thoughts. "What the hell is that?"
"That is the Day Star." Seem said. "The Light approaches and every day it grows brighter. The War of the Champions is coming."
"The War of the Champions?" The phrase sounded familiar to Jak, like he had heard or read about it before. But he couldn't, for his life, think what it was. "What's that?"
"One who can speak the Ancient Language surely must know the Precursor legends." Seem said.
"Well, I can't recall what the War of the Champions is." Jak said.
"I am forbidden to reveal such things." Seem said. "Sqsi h ysqf qohq ikjb h zuahq olvlu si nhiqaw lv h qhsvqaw juahqkua ikjo hi flkuiarf. It is a pity that such a great honor is wasted on a tainted creature such as yourself."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jak demanded.
"Nothing." Seem said, she motioned for her monks to follow her. They walked away.
"Great honor." Jak repeated in the common language. "What great honor? There's nothing honorable about my life."
"What is the War of the Champions?" Daxter asked. "Do you think Old Greenie told us about it during one of his many, many lectures back in Sandover?"
"Maybe." Jak said. "But… I can't remember."
"I'm surprised." Daxter said. "You soaked up everything that old Log Head said about the Precursors. How else could you explain that out of you, me, and Keira, that you are the only one who really picked up the Ancient Language? You learned a whole other freaking language when you couldn't even speak it, but you don't remember this dumb war thing?"
"Hey! I'm not an expert on the Precursors, all right!" Jak said. "I know I've seen that phrase before…"
A short ways away, the monks were arguing in the Ancient Language.
"Oln jhv flk xa ikua qohq oa'I qoa Lva? How can you be sure that he's the One?"
"Eafxa flk oahuw qoa Luhjra nulvz. Maybe you heard the Oracle wrong."
Seem sighed. "Qoa Luhjra zhga ki qoa vhea. Qoaua si vl wluxq. The Oracle gave us the name. There is no doubt."
"Xkq… oln? Oln si qohq yliisxra? But… how? How is that possible?"
"S hzuaa. Nohq hua qoa Yuajkuilui qosvbsvz? I agree. What are the Precursors thinking?"
"Wlv'q wlkxq qoa Yuajkuilui. Qoaf nlub sv efiqauslki nhfi. Don't doubt the Precursors. They work in mysterious ways." Seem said. "Na jhv lvrf olya qohq qoaf bvln nohq qoaf hua wlsvz. We can only hope that they know what they are doing."
LES: Sorry about all the Ancient Language. But it does allow the monks to argue without being over heard. How Jak learned how to speak the Ancient Language when he was a mute still eludes me. Writing it, I can understand. Well, I don't care. Jak knows how to speak it too!
