Chapter VI
The End of the World
Once the rumbling had finally died down, a deathly silence took the chamber. The only sound present to break the stillness was the groan Isaac made as he struggled to climb back up the rock wall, fighting against the weight of Garet's unconscious form on his back.
Once he was sure his footing was steady, Isaac used a small bit of Psynergy to create another small hole in the rocky wall. He grabbed it as best he could - while his grip was not as sure as he'd have liked, the rock no longer seemed as cold and slippery as it had before.
We he a stronger Adept, he could have reshaped the small plateau into a set of stairs of perhaps even made a platform that could hover in the air, upon which they could rest comfortably. But even making holes in the side to aid the climb was risking it - Isaac could feel the stone within growing weaker with each change he made to it. Were he to push it too hard, the entire wall could collapse.
Isaac had no idea what had happened after taking the Mars Star. The mountain seemed to have been struck by an earthquake, and he and Garet had fallen off the platform into the water below. He remembered nothing after that, only waking up to find the water gone, leaving only a rocky basin at the bottom of the chamber, and Garet knocked out at his side. Isaac found a rope in Garet's backpack, and he tied his friend to his back and began the difficult climb back up.
After several long minutes of struggle, Isaac was back up on safe ground. He untied Garet and set him down on the ground, and then he sat down and rested for a while.
Isaac had already used a bit of healing Psynergy to close a bleeding wound on Garet's forehead, but his friend did not yet wake.
Now free of the need to get back up on the platform, Isaac climbed back to his feet and took in his surroundings. The chamber was different. The walls bore many cracks along their surface, including a large one running across the length of the cavern's ceiling. The water was gone, and without the luminescent glow it provided, the chamber was no different from any other cave. It was dark, but Isaac's eyes had adjusted enough for him to see.
As expected, Jenna and Kraden, along with the four others, were all gone.
Isaac sat back down and let out a sigh. "What a disaster…"
His heart tightened as he worried for Jenna. What would those people do to her? For half a moment, he dared to hope that they would just let her and Kraden go on their way out of Vale, but then he remembered the woman - Menardi - and her insistence against leaving witnesses when she had been about to take his own life three years ago.
Perhaps Felix's presence would be enough to keep her safe. But that thought only brought with it more worries and questions. What had happened to Felix in those three years that he would go along with those people in the first place? What brought him to betray his home, to take his sister and teacher hostage, and to sneak away with the town's sacred treasures?
So many questions… so many things he did not understand.
Garet stirred and made a moan.
Isaac rushed to his side. "Garet! Hey, are you alright?"
"Ugh… Isaac…? What happened…?"
"The place started shaking when we took the Mars Star, remember? We fell off the edge."
"Is it… dinner time yet?"
Isaac sighed again, and sat back down at Garet's side.
"That's right…" Garet muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose and sitting up. "Sol Sanctum… the Elemental Stars… Jenna and Kraden, are they alright?"
"I don't know," Isaac replied. "They're all gone. I assume they left when the earthquake started, and they took Jenna and Kraden with them."
"Ah…" Garet muttered, suddenly looking worried.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Isaac reassured him. "They wouldn't hurt them if they want Felix's cooperation."
Garet scoffed. "It wouldn't surprise me if Felix was the one who did the hurting."
Isaac wasn't sure how to respond to that. He grew silent for a bit, while Garet rubbed his head and looked around at the dark, empty cavern.
"We have to go after them," Garet said. "We have to save Jenna. They need to pay for this."
"Of course," Isaac said, though he had his doubts about their ability to do that. "But first we have to figure out how to get out of here."
Over on the centre platform, the archway they had passed through no longer glowed as it had before. Did that mean the portal was broken?
"If we can't get out the way we came, I might be able to use my Psynergy to dig us out. But we would have to be careful. We could bring this whole cavern down over our heads, or I could run out of energy before we even get close to the surface…"
Garet didn't respond. Isaac looked at him, to see Garet staring off in the distance with wide eyes.
"Any thoughts?"
Garet didn't answer. He slowly raised his hand and pointed at something.
"What do you-?" Isaac turned in the direction Garet was pointing, and he froze in his tracks.
[What is the matter? Does my appearance frighten you?]
The floating, one-eyed rock did not speak with any visible mouth. It's voice seemed to resonate directly into Isaac's thoughts. It hovered before them, blinking occasionally, and watching them with it's single, bored-looking eye.
"Wh-what are you…?" Isaac managed to say. He was terrified. What if it was some kind of monster? His hand shakily moved to his sheathed machete on his belt.
[Fear not. I mean you no harm.]
Isaac stopped, though his worried were no entirely gone. Could this thing read his thoughts?
[I am called the Wise One by your people. I have long been the protector of this sanctum. I was awoken by the disturbing of the Elemental Stars. But I was too late to prevent the disaster that has occurred.]
"Disaster? You mean those people stealing the Stars?" Garet asked. It would seem he could hear the voice, as well.
[Indeed. The Stars were hidden here long ago, and with good reason. It has been Vale's purpose all these years to keep their existence a secret, but it would seem its people have failed at that task…]
The stone's eye narrowed a bit.
[And now the world is once more exposed to the threat of Alchemy...]
"What do you mean?" Isaac asked. "What did those people steal the Stars for?"
[Hmm… It is too much to explain now. This place is no longer safe. Without the Elemental Stars, the forces containing this chamber are gone. Only my own Psynergy has prevented its collapse, but I cannot sustain it forever. Mt. Aleph will soon erupt, and much of Sol Sanctum will be destroyed…]
"Wait, Mt. Aleph is going to erupt?!" Garet exclaimed. "What about Vale? What about the villagers? Will they-"
[The townspeople will be alright. I will contain the eruption and prevent Vale from being harmed. But it matters not in the end, because soon the entire world will be exposed to a far greater threat. Vale's own survival is irrelevant in the greater scheme of things.]
"But you will save it, right?" Isaac asked.
The Wise One closed its eye for a moment, thinking.
[Yes. I promise you that Vale will not be destroyed. At least not today.]
Isaac let out a relieved breath. At the thought of Mt. Aleph erupting, all he could imagine was the night three years ago when the boulder fell. He couldn't have lived with himself if his own actions had brought about more tragedy.
[Your intentions were noble, but misguided. Even taking the Stars to keep them from the Proxian thieves would have brought about these same results. But you did not know this, so do not allow guilt to be a burden on your shoulders. Let it be a force to drive you, for you will need strength in the coming days.]
"'The coming days'?" Isaac asked.
The Wise One thought for a moment.
[Again, it is too much to explain now. You should leave this place and return to Vale. The townspeople will be gathered after the initial bursts the mountain has shown. They will need answers from you, and after that, you will need answers from them.]
"Answers?"
[There is much the elders have kept from you. There is much that will need to be discussed, but above all you must keep the Mars Star safe. Do not forget this.]
Isaac and Garet exchanged glances.
[Take the Mars Star out of its bag.]
It never occurred to Isaac to argue. Without hesitation, he opened the mythril bag and took out the Mars Star, and held it up to the Wise One.
The floating being glowed with the aura of Psynergy, and the room was filled with a swell of energy that dwarfed even that of Saturos. It was more Psynergy than Isaac had ever felt.
The Mars Star seemed to glow in response, and it heated up in Isaac's outstretched hand. Isaac felt his own body growing warm, as if the pure elemental energy of the Star was flowing into his own body.
This continued for a few moments. Garet watched, half confused, and half in awe. Isaac could not bring himself to speak, not even to ask what was happening. Eventually, the Psynergy of the Wise One faded away, and the burning heat of the Mars Star died as well.
[Return it to its bag.]
Isaac did so.
[The Elemental Stars are moving away from here. It will not be long before this chamber is entirely collapsed. Even if you retrieve the Stars, there will be no sanctuary left for them to return to.]
"So… what should we do?" Isaac asked.
[That remains to be seen. The future is uncertain at the moment. There are many paths that fate might take. I can only hope to guide you in the right direction.]
"And that is…?"
The Wise One closed its single eye, thinking. Finally, it answered, [Enough has been said for now. You should leave. This place is no longer safe, nor can you afford to waste any more time. I will transport you away from here. Prepare yourselves.]
Before they could ask the floating rock what it meant by that, it closed its eye and was surrounded by the glow of Psynergy. Isaac felt a strange sensation, as thought the world around him was being torn apart and twisted into a another shape.
And indeed, it was. The ground at his feet was pulled out from underneath him, and Isaac found his feet being dropped down on brown dirt. The world continued to shift and change, gradually taking the form of the mountain path just outside the gates of Sol Sanctum.
Once it had finally settled, Isaac was hit with a wave of nausea. Beside him, Garet groaned.
"Ugh… I think I'm gonna be sick."
He didn't disagree with that.
Isaac took a few steps away from the set of double doors, through which only a few hours ago the four of them had casually stepped through, entirely unaware of what was about to happen. Not for the first time, Isaac regretted that he hadn't called the whole thing off.
The night sky was cast a shade of blood red, unusually bright for the time. From the very peak of Mt. Aleph, he could see the signs of the coming eruption - the red glow, and a growing cloud of smoke.
"They can definitely see that from town…" Garet muttered, voicing exactly what Isaac was thinking.
They found a crowd waiting for them as they marched solemnly down the mountain, back into Vale. The villagers buzzed with discussion, but quickly grew tensely quiet at the sight of the two teenagers.
Isaac's mother and Garet's family emerged from the small crowd, and ran up the path to meet them. Isaac was greeted both with a relieved embrace and a stern reprimand.
And then, of course, came the questions they both dreaded.
What happened, and where were Jenna and Kraden?
The Great Healer joined them, and once he was told that the village was in no danger, he and the mayor addressed the townspeople and reassured their fears, instructing them to return to their homes. Though they did as they were told, the villagers did not appear much relieved, casting worried glances at the fire growing atop the mountain as they dispersed.
Isaac and Garet were taken to the village's sanctum, along with Dora, the Great Healer, and Garet's grandfather, the mayor.
"Start at the beginning," said the Great Healer. "Tell us everything."
They did so, starting with the meeting with Kraden and the secret plan to explore Sol Sanctum. They left nothing out - the secret chambers, the portal they had gone through, the two foreigners and their additional companions, and of the unmasking of Felix. Garet told them of his encounter with Felix earlier in the day, and Isaac spoke of his own encounter three years earlier.
When their story was complete, the reactions differed. Dora stood in shock, the mayor gripped his cane with a clenched fist, and the Great Healer stood behind the altar with an unreadable expression.
"It is so much to take in," Isaac's mother said quietly.
The Great Healer looked up. "So you still have the Mars Star on you, then?"
Isaac nodded, and he reached into his pocket and produced the mythril bag that contained the red orb.
"That is it, there can be no doubt." The Great Healer stroked his beard, his eyes far away.
"What do you make of this?" the mayor asked.
"No matter what happens now, today was an important day," the Great Healer said. "The world will no longer be the same now. This day will bring about the end of our age, and the beginning of a new one."
"These Elemental Stars are really that important?" Dora asked.
"There are no objects more important in all of Weyard. The Elemental Stars are the keys on the seal of Alchemy. Now that they have been taken, that seal is threatened. We have failed in our duty."
"Our duty?" Dora repeated.
"It has always been Vale's purpose to keep the existence of the Stars secret, and to protect the chamber in which they were hidden."
Isaac found his grip on the mythril bag tightening.
"So all this time you've known what was in Sol Sanctum?" Isaac asked. "You knew what those people were after?"
The Great Healer considered him for a moment. "Indeed. The secret has been passed down among the elders for centuries."
"So when they came here three years ago and were asking to go into Sol Sanctum…"
This time, the mayor answered. "We had a meeting of all the adults in Vale, but only the elders knew what it was they were looking for."
There was only one conclusion he could reach from this. "So you knew what the storm was. You knew that they did not actually leave, but they tried to break into Sol Sanctum anyway. My father, and Jenna's parents died in that storm, and it could have been prevented. You knew everything, and yet you kept silent."
The Great Healer was silent for a while. Finally, he answered, "We did consider that they might try to steal the Stars regardless of what we told them. We trusted that the traps of Sol Sanctum were strong enough that they would not be able to reach as far as they did. We were wrong, but at that point there was nothing else that could be done. Once the storm had started, we knew they had set off a deadly trap, and they all had likely died.
"The alternative was that we put together a force to try and prevent them access to Sol Sanctum. But that would have required us to tell the villagers what they were protecting, and even then, there was no guarantee it would have been enough to stop them. Those foreigners are fearsome warriors, and we doubted anyone in Vale could have matched their strength.
"The deaths of Kyle, Jasmine, and Garcia were tragic, and we have regretted that they happened, but we did consider alternatives and they would have led to even more lives lost. So we kept our silence."
Though Isaac was angry, he bit his lip and kept silent. Their reasoning was not far from his own in keeping his encounter with the foreigners secret. They were simply trying to prevent more lives from being lost.
"Perhaps it was a mistake," the Great Healer continued, his voice weary with regret. "We should have known the moment that those people first arrived and asked to go inside the sanctum. Despite our efforts to keep the Stars secret, there was still some outside source of knowledge. They knew of the Stars somehow. We should have realised then and there that merely keeping silent would not be enough. But we are old, and set in old ways. And villagers in our trust died as a result. Perhaps whatever disaster is to come, we have earned it. But that is for the gods to judge."
"This all could have been avoided if you had allowed Kraden access to the depths of the temple before," the mayor said. "His desire to see the temple was what allowed those people to get in."
"Kraden has been good to Vale, but his ideas were too progressive," the Great Healer answered. "As an Alchemy sage, he might not be opposed to the idea of Alchemy's return, in spite of the dangers it would pose. In fact, he may not be a captive of these people very long - he might become a willing accomplice."
"Kraden wouldn't do that!" Garet insisted. "He wouldn't go along with the people who tricked us and kidnapped Jenna!"
"Do not be so certain, Garet," the Great Healer said. "Kraden often spoke to us of the wonders of the Lost Age, as he no doubt did to you. His passion for such a dangerous force was what motivated us not to allow him too deep into Sol Sanctum. He was a friend to us all, but we couldn't be sure what he would do if he knew of the existence of the Elemental Stars."
"You're talking about him like he's already gone," Isaac said. "He's not. Neither is Jenna. We're going to find them, and we're going to save them."
The three adults grew quiet. Isaac searched in their faces for reassurance, but they would not meet his gaze. He looked to Garet, who nodded confidently.
At the very least, he had one person on his side.
"There is much about this that we must consider," the Great Healer said. "We cannot rush into any decision. The fate of the world will be decided by our actions."
"The fate of the world?" Garet repeated. "I thought Alchemy was just a force, like Psynergy. It's dangerous, but unleashing it wouldn't cause the world to end, would it?"
"Perhaps not," the Great Healer muttered. "But our ancestors sealed it away with good reason. The world came close to destruction too many times in those ancient days. If those people are allowed to undo the seal on Alchemy, the world will face such dangers once more. 'So long as there is power, there will always be those who seek it.'"
"But we still have the Mars Star," Dora said, stepping up to the centre of the sanctum. "They can't fully undo the seal without all four, right? So as long as we keep it from them, there is nothing they can do."
"It is hard to say," the Great Healer replied. "They will not waste time in trying to retrieve the Mars Star. They will go to the lighthouses and undo the first three parts of the seal, leaving Mars Lighthouse for last. Doubtless, their first goal will be Mercury Lighthouse, to the northeast. We could attempt to keep the Star from them, but there is always the possibility that opening three seals and not all four could be worse than unleashing Alchemy altogether. Imbalance is the surest cause of calamity. But that remains to be seen…"
The room grew silent for a long while as those words set in. Now that the seal had been tampered, it truly was the end of an age. No matter what happened, terrible things were sure to follow.
"And thus," the Great Healer said, "we come to the most important part of all this. What must we do? Some action must be taken, for it is not only Jenna and Kraden that need saved, but all of Weyard."
Garet all but jumped. "We have to go after them! We have to stop them!"
"Hmm?" the mayor said, raising an eyebrow. "That's this, my grandson? Are you volunteering for this task so eagerly?"
Garet frowned, looked away, and fidgeted in place.
"It is true that Isaac and Garet are the ideal choice to send, however," the Great Healer said. "They are young enough to make this journey, skilled enough at Psynergy to face the challenges, and they bear part of the responsibility of causing it in the first place."
"No!" Dora said, brushing past Isaac and marching up to the altar. "They are just children, you can't possibly expect them to-"
"Your son is a young man, Dora. He is no child. Neither is Garet. This is a choice they must make for themselves."
All three of the adults turned to Isaac and Garet.
"Isaac, Garet… It is time for you to decide if you will accept this responsibility. You will leave Vale and pursue the thieves, fight them if necessary, stop them from lighting the elemental beacons, and save Jenna and Kraden. This is no simple task that is being asked of you, but the hand of the gods have placed you in this role for a reason. Do not make your decision lightly, because you will be bound to whatever path you choose."
The room grew silent once more while they waited for an answer.
Isaac considered what was being asked of him. To leave his home, the place he had spent his entire life so far, and to travel out into an unknown world. To hunt down the thieves, and most likely to fight them. To be given the responsibility of saving not only Jenna and Kraden, but also the whole world.
He felt his breath quicken. It was a monumental amount of pressure.
Garet began to pace the length of the sanctum. Finally, he threw up his hands and said, "Oh jeez, I can't handle this. Isaac, you decide."
That helped.
"Well, Isaac? What is your decision? Will you accept the responsibility of saving the world from the threat of Alchemy?"
The responsibility of saving the world? If it was just a matter of saving Jenna and Kraden, he would have accepted in a heartbeat. But saving the whole world?
He supposed it didn't make a difference. In the end, it would still come down to finding and facing the thieves. And Felix. Whether it was for Jenna, or for Weyard, he would still need to take the same path, and face the challenges.
He hadn't considered not going after the thieves when it was simply a matter of saving Jenna. But now, by declining, he was not only forsaking her, but millions of other souls.
The more he thought about it, the less doubt he had.
"I will," he said, his fists tight and his eyes ablaze.
"You accept…?" Garet said, blinking in disbelief. "Oh Isaac, you can't seriously-"
"Enough!" the mayor interjected. "Garet, you left your decision to Isaac. There will be no more discussion on this. You will leave as soon as you are ready."
"In the morning," Dora insisted. "At the very least, let them have a night's rest before they go. They're probably exhausted after everything that's happened today."
For the first time Isaac considered that, and he realised with a bit of surprise that he was actually very tired.
"Yes, they will leave at dawn," said the Great Healer. "We cannot afford the thieves any time, as they already have a head start, but they cannot depart without time to rest and say their goodbyes."
"Say our goodbyes…" Garet repeated to himself. "Grandpa, how are we going to explain this to Mum and Dad?"
"Ah, that's a good question," the mayor sighed. "We should be getting to it, though. It's already late and you'll be getting up at first light, and who knows how long we'll be up telling everyone about this."
"Yes, we should go home, too…" Dora said in a small voice. Isaac glanced at her, and she did not meet his gaze.
"Very well," the mayor said. "Great Healer, is there anything else that we should discuss before we depart? There will be little time to talk in the morning, so if there is anything else of note that should be covered…"
The Great Healer considered for a moment, then he said, "The Mars Star should remain in Vale."
"What?" Isaac said. "Why?"
"As it is one of the vital pieces needed to undo the seal on Alchemy, it would be unwise to deliver it right into the hands of the enemy. And it is far too important to be used as a bargaining chip for the release of the hostages. Though there is no chamber left for the Stars to return to, it is still safer here than on the road."
"I agree," said the mayor. "The Mars Star should stay here. Isaac, leave the Star here in the town's sanctum, under the watchful eye of the Great Healer. If there is anyone in Vale who can keep it safe, it is him."
Reluctantly, Isaac walked up to the back of the stone room, and took the closed mythril bag out of his pocket. As he set the bag down on the stone alter, the Mars Star seemed to grow heavier, as if reluctant to leave him.
Outside, the sky had grown a mix of the night's black, and a smoky red, coming from atop Mt. Aleph. Though the small earthquakes had grown weaker and farther apart over the time spent in the sanctum, the bright fires atop the mountain could still be seen from the village, and plumes of smoke poured out into the sky.
Garet asked Isaac as they stared at the fire, "Do you believe that rock thing… the Wise One… do you believe what it said about Vale being safe from the eruption?"
Isaac thought about that strange being, how it had stared at them with its single eye and spoken directly to their minds. That one eye, with the little emotion it could express, had glimmered with untold knowledge - the capacity to know and understand far more than mere mortals were capable of.
And now the world is once more exposed to the threat of Alchemy...
"It seemed to know what it was talking about."
"Well, we'll know in the morning if the town is still standing or not."
Just how long had it been the protector of Sol Sanctum? Likely since the Lost Age, which had ended thousands of years ago. How much had it seen, and come to know, in such a long time?
"Come, Garet," said the mayor as he stepped past them. "There are many preparations that need made." He stopped, and then turned back to Isaac as though he had just remembered he existed. "Isaac, Dora… I am sorry for all that has happened."
Isaac and his mother walked home in silence. Isaac wasn't sure what to say, or even if he should have said anything at all. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Was she upset? Angry at him that he needed to leave, or angry at him that he had gone to Sol Sanctum and caused this all in the first place?
Vale had grown unsettlingly quiet. Isaac doubted that most of the villagers had simply gone home and went to bed, sleeping peacefully - not when there was fire in the sky, when dark smoke billowed from the mountain that had always loomed over their humble town like a sleeping giant. No… it was more like they had retreated into their homes and were waiting with a collectively drawn breath.
Indeed, many of the houses he passed were faintly illuminated by lit candles. He imagined families were huddled together under that dim light, children too frightened by the mountain's rumbling to sleep, and the parents doing their best to hide from their children that they were just as frightened.
Isaac trusted that the Wise One was honest, and that Vale was in no danger tonight. But if those reassurances were true, then its ominous warnings were just as true. And as Isaac had just accepted responsibility for the fate of the world…
All these people, frightened of Mt. Aleph, would have so much more to be afraid of if he failed.
Finally, Isaac and his mother made it back to their home. He noticed Dora looking at the roof at they walked up to the front door.
Once inside, and out of the cool night air, Dora lit a candle, and turned to her son. She frowned, looking like she had something to say, but having a lot of trouble saying it.
He had to break to silence. "Mother?"
"Um… Yes, Isaac?"
"I'm… Sorry this happened. I'm sorry we broke into the sanctum, and that all this happened… If I would have known, I would have talked them out of it, but I…"
"Oh, Isaac it's not your fault," she said with a sad smile. "How could you have possibly known? How could any of us have known…? All this madness. I can't believe all this has happened… It doesn't feel real. Like, we'll wake up in the morning and this will all have been some crazy dream…"
He understood that feeling, at least. There was so much to take in… the Elemental Stars, Jenna and Kraden's kidnapping, Felix's survival and betrayal, the inhuman foreigners, the Wise One, the return of Alchemy…
His whole life up until today, save for the night of tragedy three years ago, had been simple and quiet. The hardest thing had been finding things to do to pass the time in the sleepy town he called home. He'd never faced a real challenge before, nor had he expected to. He'd spent the last three years training his Psynergy, but he'd never expected he would actually need to use it, especially not to save the world.
He knew in his heart that this was no dream. The dangers the world faced were all too real. It was tempting to want to believe that it would all go away in the morning, that Jenna would be back, and that all the dangers and threats would be gone. But he couldn't even bring himself to desire such a hope, because even that bit of hope would only make the imminent parting all the harder.
He didn't want to leave Vale in the morning. He didn't want to leave behind his mother, and all the people he had come to know in his seventeen years of life.
Doubtless, that had been weighing on Dora's mind ever since they left the sanctum.
"I'm sorry I have to leave," he said to her quietly.
She stared at him for a moment, taking in the meaning of those words. And then, her strong mask cracked, and her lip trembled as tears began to run down her cheeks. By the time she had her arms around her son, her last surviving family, Dora wept.
Two hours passed in the night, and Isaac was unable to sleep.
Though the tremors had ceased hours ago, Mt. Aleph still rumbled, and he could hear it even in his bedroom. But it wasn't just the eruption keeping him awake.
Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the burning yellow gaze of that man, Saturos. He saw Felix, at Jenna's side, about to take her away. And he saw the Wise One, silently scorning him for some failure he had yet to commit.
And on top of that, there was the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something. In the chaos of the day's events, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he had meant to do.
He wondered where Jenna was at that moment, where those people had taken her. She was probably scared, tired, and alone. Her brother was as much a stranger now as the three others who had kidnapped her. At least she had Kraden with her, but Isaac didn't quite feel the Alchemy sage would do a particularly good job consoling her.
Would she try to escape from them? Knowing Jenna, she wouldn't stop trying. Would they punish her when she tried? If Felix still had any love for his sister, he would defend her and stop them from harming her. But Isaac wasn't sure what to make of Felix now. He didn't know what kind of person his old friend had turned into.
He tried to push such thoughts from his mind and relax. But after several more long minutes of tossing and turning, Isaac was still no closer to falling asleep.
The feeling that he was making a mistake by leaving behind the Mars Star was another burden he could not shake. While it made logical sense to keep it in Vale, rather than taking it with him to the thieves, he just couldn't stop feeling as though he would be needing it.
But he knew he wouldn't be able to talk the Great Healer into letting him take it.
Isaac debated for several more minutes, thinking about what he would need to do if he wanted to take the Mars Star with him.
Eventually, he made his decision.
Isaac threw aside his sheets and sat up. He pulled open his curtains to give his room some small amount of light, which turned out to be little with how dark the sky was from the mountain's eruption. Still, once his eyes had adjusted enough to see, he rummaged around in his room until he found a small wooden bird he'd been given as a gift several years ago. It was about the same size and weight as the Mars Star.
Only then, as he held that bird in his hand, trying to remember who had given it to him, did he remember just what it was that had been forgetting.
Jenna's birthday.
He'd meant to go shopping to find her a gift once their business in Sol Sanctum had been finished.
And now…
After everything that poor girl had been through three years ago, she now was subjected to finding out her brother had survived but had not bothered to contact her, and then abducted and dragged away from her home in the night. That would have been bad enough, but it happened on her birthday.
Isaac clenched the wooden bird so tightly he was surprised it didn't break.
If… no, when he found Felix… he would make him pay for everything he had done.
Isaac gathered up his other few possessions and clothes and stuffed them in his backpack, and hung his machete from his belt. Then he moved downstairs as quietly as he could, which took some time as his old house creaked and groaned with every step.
Finally, once he was outside, he started down the path back up the hills of Vale towards the town's sanctum. He stopped a few paces from his house and looked back, thinking that it would likely be the last time he saw it in a while.
"I'm sorry, Mother," he said quietly. "I would have stayed and said a proper goodbye as I left in the morning… but I can't leave the Mars Star behind. Forgive me."
He moved quietly through the night, as he had so many times before with Garet, Jenna, and Felix - as he had on the night of tragedy before it all happened, when he had broke into the inn and spied on the foreigners. He approached the sanctum like a thief, knowing that the Great Healer and the other temple Adepts lived there and might hear him sneaking in.
He moved to the stone wall and sidled his way up to the entrance, where the stone double doors were his last obstacle before he could reach the Mars Star. But before he could move to do so, he heard the sound of a twig breaking under foot.
It was not his own.
The air was filled with the meaningful silence that only someone holding their breath and waiting could be.
Was it the thieves? Had they decided to linger and attempt to steal the Mars Star after all?
Isaac's hand went to his machete, and he dared to say, "Who's there?"
There was another silent pause, and then, "…Isaac?"
He immediately knew the voice. "Garet? What are you doing out here?"
He heard more twigs and leaves crumbling, and turned around to see his friend emerging from the woods. He immediately noticed that Garet also carried a backpack over his shoulders.
"What are you doing out here?"
"I asked you first."
"Fair enough," Garet said, his voice still quiet so they were not overheard. "I was thinking about going to save Jenna, and I thought that leaving the Mars Star here was a bad idea. So I was coming to sneak it out of the sanctum, and then I was gonna go to your house and wake you up, so we could leave before anyone noticed it was gone."
"Ah," Isaac said, scratching the back of his head and feeling a bit silly. "I was, uh… doing the same thing."
"I even brought something to swap with the Mars Star," Garet said, conjuring a small bag of something that didn't smell very good.
"What in the name of-?"
"It's a bag of old cheese."
"Why would you bring…? You know what? Forget it, I don't want to know."
"Funny that we both ended up here, huh? Great minds think alike, it seems," Garet said with a grin.
"Perhaps," Isaac muttered. He wondered if it was just mere coincidence that they had both felt the same concerns, got the same idea, and attempted it at the same time.
A minute or so later, Isaac pushed open the stone double doors of the sanctum as quietly as possible and stepped inside.
"Look," Garet whispered, and pointed to the back room. The orange flicker of a candle glowed, and voices could be very faintly heard.
"It's the elders," Isaac decided. "Still discussing what happened. Let's grab the Mars Star and get out of here."
As expected, the Mars Star still sat within its mythril bag on the altar at the back of the sanctum.
Isaac felt that the Mars Star should remain in the mythril bag. It seemed to suppress the orb's immense energy, and while Isaac didn't understand enough about Alchemy to know why, it was clear that Kraden had thought it a good idea to use the bags.
"Give me your bag," Isaac said to Garet. He hadn't brought a bag of his own to use - just the wooden bird. An oversight that Garet had fortunately resolved.
Isaac set Garet's bag down on the altar, and then took the mythril bag and tied it around his belt, opposite of his machete. Garet's bag was close enough in appearance to the mythril bag that it would pass for it at a distance in the low, dim torchlight of the sanctum, but under any inspection it would be obvious it was a fake.
"Let's get out of Vale before the elders wonder why the Mars Star smells like mold."
Isaac hadn't been able to overhear anything the elders had been discussing in the back room of the sanctum, but he recognised the voices of the Great Healer, the mayor, and the other town elders, and he could tell that they were having an argument of some kind.
Perhaps they were debating the sending of Isaac and Garet. Perhaps they were not happy with the course of action the Great Healer had set in motion. The elders were a difficult lot, who valued tradition and rules above the concerns of the outside world. They likely would not approve of sending two boys of seventeen out into Angara on a mission to save Weyard.
The night air was cold, despite the fire coming out of the peak of Mt. Aleph. And for a while, the red glow was the only illumination they had to guide them as they walked down the dirt path away from their home.
They had gone down the highway a few times before, but never more than a few miles. Isaac wondered if he had already walked farther away from Vale than he'd ever been in just the few hours since they'd sneaked away.
"My family didn't take the news well," Garet said as they travelled down the highway. "Kay actually cried when we told them I was leaving. Can you believe that? My sister, who always acts like she hates me so much, actually cried."
"What about Aaron?"
"He was sad, too. But he got excited when we told him what we were leaving for. He said, 'My brother is a hero! He's going to save the world!' My mum didn't like that very much, but it got a few laughs out of us."
A hero, huh? Isaac hadn't felt like a hero at all. He felt like he had failed everyone by causing all of this in the first place, that he should have stopped Kraden from going into Sol Sanctum in the first place.
"That actually changed the way I was thinking, actually," Garet said. "Up until that point, I was really bummed out about all this. All that scary talk about the end of the world and stuff, I felt like there was no way we could possibly save Weyard from Alchemy. But you know what? Even if things are pretty bad, with Jenna being abducted, and the world in danger, this is still an adventure, you know? We're leaving Vale, and we're going to see the world! There's a lot to be excited about!
"If we let ourselves think about this like it's some huge burden, then we're going to be crushed by it. It's not like we're out to fight an army, or slay a dragon, or some impossible task from the stories. All we have to do is beat up some bad guys, and bring Jenna, Kraden, and the Stars back to Vale. Peace of cake, right?
"And we're going to see some beautiful sights on the way, so why not enjoy it while we can?"
With that last sentence, Garet pointed towards the horizon, at some mountains far in the distance.
The sun was rising, and it glowed a powerful gold.
A/N: Wheew, longest chapter yet. There was a lot to cover in this one; a lot of thoughts that I felt Isaac needed to process. Leaving the only home you've ever known and going on an adventure to save the world a lot to ask of a teenager. I tried to look at the task ahead of Isaac in as many ways as I could.
A few things were cut from the game, the two most notable being the appearance of the Wise One in the sanctum after Isaac accepts responsibility for the world's fate, and the second being the very long scene of the villagers saying goodbye as Isaac and Garet leave the next day. The first I always felt was kind of silly, as the Wise One basically just pops in and says, "Hey bro, thanks for doing me this solid". It's kinda pointless and I always felt it undermined the Wise One's mysterious silence.
The second is gone partially because it is just so damn long and the chapter was already running long, but more so due to another change I made, that the Great Healer insists on leaving the Mars Star in Vale. It just felt like a more logical, as Isaac's group are trying to prevent the lighthouses from being lit, so by leaving the Mars Star they would make it impossible to finish it. But of course, divine intervention pushes Isaac back on the right path, even though he does not yet know what that path is.
And that led to Isaac and Garet sneaking away in the night, which led to them watching the sun rise as they realise that this really will be an adventure. I felt this worked thematically in a lot of ways.
The next chapter will have Felix's group in it. Unlike the game, we'll be popping in to see how things are going on the other side fairly often. This will continue into the TLA half of the story, where we'll get to see Isaac's group quite a bit.
Next chapter: Sore feet!