Disclaimer: Camelot owns the rights to Golden Sun. Not the sun itself!

Reven and Crew set off for Mercury Lighthouse from Altin. This is mostly traveling and character development. Which is good for the next chapter. Interested? Read it(Then review it!).

Chapter 10

The morning came much earlier than Reven had thought. It seemed to him that he had just fallen asleep. Grumbling, he forced his sore body up. He easily woke Erick with a light tap to the shoulder. Silvia, on the other hand, wasn't as easy. After failing to awaken her by lightly shaking her on the arm, Reven was forced to resort to harsher measures. A quick splash of water to her face woke her up fast. Reven, as usual, had to kick Shade awake. He gathered up all the items he had, then walked down the steps into the shop with his pack. There, he was surprised to find that Delia had prepared all them a farewell breakfast. Erick and Silvia came down a few minutes later. The three of them thankfully ate down the meal then said their thanks and goodbyes to Delia and the weapon shopkeepers. Delia gave Silvia some of her herbs and medicine to help them along their journey. Right before Reven was about to leave, Delia pulled him aside.

"As a thanks for saving my shop," She said. "I'd like to give you this."

She held out her hand and gave something small to Reven. Reven examined it and discovered it was a small vial filled with a golden liquid.

"It's called the Water of Life. If you ever feel like you have no strength left, or suffer a life threatening injury, drink this. It is made from a mixture of the water of Hermes and pure Alchemy, and it is extremely rare. Use it well.

She clasped it his hands and walked away without another word. All Reven could do was stand there and mumble, "Thank you," after her.

As soon as they left the shop, Silvia and Erick started to head down to the town's entrance, but Reven began to head off north, towards the shrine. Silvia immediately took notice to this.

"Uhh... Reven?" She said. "The entrance is this way."

"Actually," Reven said. "Last night the thieves that we captured were going to use the mineshaft to escape to the Goma Range. I was thinking that we could do the same, to save some time. Since we are headed there anyways, we can go through the mountain instead of over it."

Flint was the first to speak up. "I think that would be a great idea. I like the idea of being surrounded by nothing but earth. Also I would have a very good opportunity to teach Silvia some Venus psynergy."

Neither Erick nor Silvia had any problem with Reven's plan and thus they headed back over to the Shrine. The Shrine didn't look as intimidating as it had the night before. It looked a lot less decrepit in the light. They stepped inside the shrine, into the room where the large statues stood. Silvia and Erick were impressed by the imposing relics until Reven directed their attention over to the secret staircase that led to the thieves hideout. Reven showed them back down the stairs, then over to the room where he and Feridan had apprehended the criminals the previous night. It look just the same as it had the night before after they had cleared out all the stolen goods. The mine cart was still in the middle of the room, sitting in a state of desuetude on its track. Reven looked at the cart then at the exit. Then a very brilliant, but dangerous idea formed in his mind.

"I have another idea," Reven said. Let's ride the cart through the mountain."

"Let's throw ourselves off a cliff!" Erick said sarcastically, turning towards Reven. He paused, then said. "Oh, you were serious?"

Reven rolled his eyes. "Of course I was. The thieves were going to use this to transport the stolen goods with this, why don't we use it to transport ourselves. It will be quicker than walking."

Erick looked skeptical, however, Silvia was fascinated. "Ooh," She said. That sounds like a fun idea!"

Erick was forced to reluctantly agree. They all piled into the mine cart except for Reven. It was a tight fit but somehow they all manged to fit in the cart and left enough room for Reven. Reven grabbed onto the back of the cart and pushed with all his might. Slowly, yet surely, the cart began to move. He shoved as hard as he could until finally he had given it enough force to let gravity take over. Erick held out his hand and Reven grabbed onto it. Erick pulled Reven inside as the cart slowly rolled along.

"See? This isn't so bad." Reven told Erick, elbowing him in the ribs.

Suddenly they heard Flint's voice from the front of the cart. "Uh-oh. Everybody hold on to..."

Flint didn't have time to finish before the cart tilted forward almost near vertical. They plummeted downward, still on the track but moving at quite a faster pace. Almost too fast. This entire time they had just been moving forward following the tunnel. Suddenly the tunnel shifted to the right and the cart swerved to follow the path. Reven could have sworn they had rode on two wheels for a period of time. The tunnel kept on swerving and changing and all the time moving downward. The constant rocking of the cart made Reven sick to his stomach. Shortly thereafter, Reven felt the rail level out and the cart slowly ground its way to a halt. They were still in a cave but the entrance could be seen from the cart. Silvia was the first to leave the cart she jumped out and lied on her back on the ground, taking huge breaths. Erick got out quickly and grasped his stomach. Reven was still in the cart trying to keep his own stomach from leaping out of his chest and into his mouth. Even the Djinn looked agonized from the trip. Reven clambered his way out of the cart and onto the stable earth. Instantly, Silvia stood up walked over to Reven and smacked him on the arm.

"Hey," said Reven. "What was that for?"

"That was for making me think your ideas are smart." She said, disdainfully. "I don't think I'll listen to another one of your plans again. It wouldn't be good for my health."

They gathered up their weapons and packs and headed out of the cave. Reven was thankful to see light again, even though the sunlight hurt his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden change in light. The first thing that Reven did was check his map. He unfolded it, and tried to pinpoint their exact location. After consulting with Erick, they decided that they were somewhere east of the Goma Range, yet south of the Goma River.

Reven had quite a bit of time to think as they walked north towards the river. His mind was wandering all over the place, and yet he always keep on thinking about the same thing; his quest and about how he was going to pull it off. Fortunately, Erick and Silvia, along with Fever and Flint, had joined him on his journey, and he knew he could count on them to help him when he needed it the most. He now had a lot more confidence than he originally had when he started out. Then he needed to decide which lighthouse they should visit after they had finished at Mercury lighthouse, that is, if they made it through Mercury lighthouse. Venus Lighthouse was not a likely choice, seeing as at this point Silvia could hardly lift a pebble with her Psynergy, let alone, seal away a lighthouse's power. Another choice was Mars Lighthouse, but Reven immediately eliminated that from the list because it would be the hardest to reach from where they were now. So that left only one option; Jupiter Lighthouse. The only problem was that they currently did not have a Jupiter Adept traveling with them. Reven hoped that by choosing Jupiter Lighthouse they would be able to have a wind Adept join them for the remainder of their journey. Then Reven realized something crucial; he had never met a Jupiter Adept before. He laughed that thought off and walked over to Silvia to see what she was doing.

Silvia had been working with Flint from the moment they left the cave. He had given her a small pebble, then asked her to try and levitate it in her palm while they were walking. As a beginner Adept, it shouldn't take very long to learn how to preform the simplest of tasks. Silvia appeared to be doing well considering it was her first time attempting Venus psynergy. The unfortunate pebble had spent the last few hours hovering feebly a few inches in the air, if only for a few seconds, then dropping straight back down into Silvia's palm. Every time it fell Silvia looked disappointed, however, every time she began again with an even more determined look than she had before. Reven began walking next to her just as the pebble fell back to her palm.

"So how's the practicing proceeding," he asked.

Silvia clenched the pebble in her fist. "It was proceeding just fine until you decided to break my concentration." She said spitefully, staring at Reven. Reven stared back. There was a pause as they stared into each others eyes, then Silvia reluctantly broke into a smile and turned away.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it,"she said, hovering the pebble, this time a lot more stable. It stayed for a few seconds, then once again fell to her open hand. "But watch what I can almost do now." She said, then stopped walking. She held the hand with the pebble, closed in a fist, out in front of her, then opened it. The pebble dropped to the ground. She concentrated and the pebble began to rise off the ground. The higher the pebble got the less controlled it was. It was almost to her hand when she was forced to stop because she was shaking so intensely with concentration. The pebble dropped.

"I am so close," she said. "Just a little more time."

Reven was impressed. He could tell Silvia was very determined to learn how to use psynergy. It had taken him weeks just to learn to control water. He was very proud of her efforts and he patted her on the back. He laughed. "You're doing great. We'll have you a fully-fledged Venus adept in no time at all."

"Thanks for the optimism," she said back. "This is some really hard stuff to do but I know I'm getting better at it. It is becoming easier to do every time even if it really isn't much improvement."

"Well keep working, as much as I hate to say it, you need to be able to put out a lighthouse in just a few weeks." Reven said, "But don't worry, if my plan goes as I expect then the last lighthouse will be Venus. That should give you plenty of time to train."

"Well then lets just hope that things go according to plan." Silvia said, then paused. "Reven?" she asked tentatively.

"What is it Silvia?" He said surprised by her sudden change in the conversation.

"I've been wondering... Why did you accept this quest? Surely you where given a choice. What made you so sure that you could actually accomplish something this important."

Reven thought about this. He knew that he was a very impulsive person, maybe he had accepted this because of a rash thought. But the more he thought the more he realized that wasn't the case. He had accepted because he finally was presented with an opportunity. An opportunity to escape the future that he knew lay ahead of him. If he had stayed in Lemuria he would have definitely ended up becoming Lemuria's next healer after his father was finished. Reven had never taken to much interest in his fathers profession. If he had denied then he would have almost have been banished from Lemuria for it. But when he was presented with the perfect opportunity to leave, he took it.

"Reven?" Silvia asked again, this time a little impatiently.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I accepted this quest because it gave me the perfect opportunity... to see the world." Reven didn't know why, but he didn't tell Silvia the truth. He knew he could confide in her, but he wasn't ready to tell her his deepest secret.

"Hmmm," said Silvia. " I also have always wanted to travel the world. Except I never thought I'd be traveling with a couple of guys to seal away a power I've just recently learned that I posses."

"If you ask me this wasn't the way I thought I'd be leaving Lemuria." Reven said, then thought to himself. "I thought it would be a lot harder than this..." Then he spoke to Silvia again. "I guess we're similar in the fact that an incredible opportunity arose and we both took it the moment we had the chance. I'm just glad that that opportunity allowed me to meet you guys. If I hadn't of broken the rules, I never would have met you, or Erick for that matter."

Silvia smiled. "You know I can't thank you enough for that."

"For what?" He asked.

"Knocking me to the ground. If you weren't so clumsy, I probably would have passed you by without a second glance."

"Well fate has funny ways of bringing people together." Reven said.

The rest of the day passed by without any trouble. They reached the river just after lunch. After another quick glance at the map, they began to head westward along the river. Reven and Silvia continued to talk among themselves for the better part of the day. They told stories about what they has done growing up. Silvia really didn't have much to tell because she really had not much else to do than be a servant. Reven however told many stories of his adventures with Shade, that he had in the last few years. Silvia listened patiently very interested in Reven's past. Shade had also joined them for a while to help "correct" some of Reven's tales. Every now and then Erick would also join them, but he spent most of his time walking ahead of them talking with Fever. Flint was constantly reminding Silvia to continue practicing her psynergy, which she would work on randomly throughout the day.

Soon the sun began to fall behind the mountains to the west, casting the world into a deep orange twilight. The travelers found an excellent spot to settle in for the night and pitched their camp there. From where they were camped they could hear the lulling roar of the Bibilin River. While Silvia was cooking their dinner Reven and Erick were studying the map. They determined that they where just south of the city of Goma. After devouring Silvia's delicious supper they prepared for bed. Reven took the first watch of the night. A few hours later he awakened Shade to continue his watch. Reven immediately fell asleep and sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

The morning began when Erick mercilessly kicked Reven awake. With some help from Fever he managed to wake Silvia as well. They ate a quick breakfast, packed up the camp and set off for Goma. As they continued north along the Bibilin River, they encountered a few wild animals that were not to friendly. Flint made Silvia practice her psynergy on them. Reven was concerned when Silvia began laughing when she launched an angry mole into the river. Her psynergy was improving rapidly and she was gaining more and more confidence in her abilities. She was no longer limited to small stones and was able to slightly move bigger rocks. Finally Flint felt Silvia was ready to learn a different type of psynergy.

"Cure?" She asked.

"Yep. This will allow you to heal minor cuts and bruises, and dull minor pain. It's like Reven's Ply, but not quite as potent."

"But I can heal injuries now?" She asked.

"As long as you have the strength to do so. Remember, psynergy is linked directly to your strength, as long as you have strength left you can us it. Now..." Flint said. "Reven hold out your arm."

"Why?" Reven said, holding out his arm. In a flash of Flint's tail there was a perfect slash across his outstretched arm. "Ahh!" Reven cried out, gripping his arm. "What was that for?"

"Practice." Flint said. "Now, Silvia, try focusing your power and heal this wound."

"Okay..." She said, then held her hand over the gash in his arm. She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Cure." She said. For a second nothing happened, then a few orange sparks fell onto the wound. The tingling sensation around the wound disappeared, however the gash was still there.

"At least you numbed the pain." Reven said, then cast a ply on the wound. The skin wove itself back together and all that was left was a long scar. "Now no more testing this out on me."

At that moment Erick, who was walking in front of them, yelled back. "Goma is just ahead. I can see it from here. We can stop, get lunch, then continue north."

Goma was a small town, in fact it was the smallest that Reven had seen so far on his journey. A few scattered houses and a few shops were here and there. The first place they stopped at was the town inn. The inn was also the towns restaurant . Reven needed to ask the innkeeper where the entrance to the cave that lead to the Mercury Lighthouse was. The innkeeper marked the exact spot on Reven's map. Reven thanked him and they walked over to the restaurant. After lunch they where about to leave, when the innkeeper stopped them.

"If you're planning to go up north, I would highly suggest that you find some more suitable clothes. You wouldn't want to go there dressed like that." He commented.

Reven looked down, then at Silvia and Erick. They all had on short sleeve shirts and light pants. "That would be a very good idea." Reven said. "Thanks."

While Erick and Reven went to get some clothes, Silvia left to find some more supplies and food. They found a neat little clothing shop in town and purchased a few new clothes that would better prepare them for the colder weather. Once they had finished up they met Silvia at the gate, and left Goma without doing anything else. As they where leaving Erick had something to say.

"That was interesting." He said. "I think that we spent the least amount of time in that town than anywhere else."

"Yeah," said Silvia. "Well, it's probably because Reven didn't start any fights."

"Hey," Reven shot back. "I didn't find any of those fights, they just sort of found me."

"If I recall correctly it was you who attacked those pirates, just to save me." Silvia said.

"I wasn't looking for a fight but I guess that was an unavoidable consequence." Reven said.

Silvia rolled her eyes and continued walking. They walked north for the rest of the day. Reven noticed that the further they walked the colder it became. By the end of the day they could see the mountains to the north. They found a place to make camp and settled in for the night. They ate dinner then just before falling asleep, Silvia asked a question.

"Does anyone keep watch over us while we sleep?" She asked.

"Reven and I usually take turns. Sometimes we even ask the Djinn." Erick said. "So don't worry, we've got it covered."

"Wait... So everyone takes a turn but me?" She said. "What about me? Can't I have a watch?"

"Actually, it's fine." Reven said. "We don't mind. You can get your rest."

"But I can watch. Its no problem for me."

"No, seriously, it's fine. We can handle it."

"As if I couldn't?" She asked, suddenly angry.

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean." Silvia said impatiently, her voice rising. Erick had disappeared.

"Because... you... are..." He stuttered.

"BECAUSE I'M A GIRL?!" She yelled. "Just because I'm female does not mean that I am physically incapable of stay up at night for a few extra hours. I'll have you know that I..."

Reven was forced to listen to Silvia's rant for the next few minutes. By the time he got her to calm down he had already promised her the first watch of the night. Only after that did Erick reappear, with a few logs for their fire. Even when he finally settled down to sleep he could still feel the glare of Silvia's piercing gaze on the back of his head. Later that night he was awaken by a merciless kick to the back of his head. Grumbling he got up and traded places with Silvia. He wished her a good night but all he got in return was a heavy sigh. After his shift was up he woke Erick and fell to sleep himself. The morning came quickly and Reven woke up on his own. Erick was still watching over them, with heavy bags under his eyes. He nodded to quietly acknowledge that Reven was awake. It was still semi-dark and the first thing he noticed was that it was very cold. He changed into his new warmer clothes then went and sat by the fire. Erick looked tired.

"I hate to say it but we have at least a few more days of travel before we reach the Mercury Lighthouse." Reven said.

"I know. I think it would have been best if we'd have sailed around." Erick replied.

"I don't think that would have been possible. I think there is a huge reef that cuts off the Lighthouse from the main sea." He said.

"It sure would have beat all this walking." Erick joked.

After Silvia woke up, she cooked them a nice breakfast. Reven wasn't positive but he could have sworn she undercooked his portion. They proceeded to break camp and head for the mountains.

They reached the mountains around mid-day, where they had lunch before once again disembarking. They headed west along the mountains for the latter part of the day. They were searching for the entrance to a cave that would lead them to the northern part of Anagra. They found a few random caves but they all led nowhere. As the sun was falling they came upon a cave marked as Bibilin Cave. Reven assumed this was the right cave. But instead of heading in Reven decided that they should make camp for the night. They made their camp at the mouth of the cave. Just before falling asleep Reven announced that they would hopefully reach the lighthouse the next day. They all fell asleep and left the Djinn to watch over them much to the Djinn's displeasure.

As it had everyday, the morning came at last. The sleep-deprived Djinn awoke the rest of the party. After another breakfast they set off into the cave. There was a path inside, clearly carved out by someone. Reven explained that it was one of the only ways to reach the mercury lighthouse, so it would sometimes be used by other people that where visiting the nearby village of Imil. Imil was a small clan of Mercury Adepts that protected the Mercury Lighthouse.

"What are a bunch of Mercury Adepts doing so far up north." Silvia inquired.

"It's because that's where the Mercury Lighthouse is." Reven said. "There is also a nearby village, Imil. It's sort of like a sister tribe to Lemuria. They are the protectors of the Mercury Lighthouse."

"What do they protect it from?"Silvia asked.

"People like us. People that would steal the power of the Mercury Lighthouse. When it was built, they made it so that only those with the power of Mercury would be able to ascend it. You have me so there should be no problem." Reven said.

"So, we wont be welcome there?" Silvia asked.

"For the time being, we should be fine, however, after we put out the lighthouse, I do not believe that many people will be happy with us. I've been working on what to do in that situation."

Reven thought the situation was a little ironic. He had been asked to save the world but he wasn't able to tell many people about it. The way that he had to save the world would not be a very popular idea and, what would most likely happen was, that they would become the most hated and evil people in the world, just for trying to save it. Reven sighed but then decided that he had already accepted this quest and there was no turning back.

The pathway in the cave was clearly marked so it made it easy to follow the path. That was, until they came upon a gigantic boulder blocking the path. They had just found their way out of a tight corridor and had walked into a open cavern. An underground river flowed across one half of the cave. The other half of the room was the path, which was unfortunately blocked by a few humongous boulders.

Erick looked at the situation with distaste. "They could have at least set up a detour."

Reven ignored the sarcasm and started looking for a way to get around this latest hindrance. It would take an incredible amount of force to move the boulders. Swimming was out of the question, the water was too cold and the current was too strong. Erick had given up and wanted to search for another way around. However Flint had a different idea.

"Silvia," he said. "You move it. You should be able to move it by now."

"That boulder?" She asked incredulously. "But it's huge! I can't even move a boulder half that size."

"If you summon me," Flint said. "You should be able to move it."

"And how exactly do I do that?" She said.

"Oh, right." He said. "I forgot you were new to this. We'll have to work on that, too."

Reven stepped in. "If you'd like I could give you a quick demonstration." He offered.

"That would be helpful," she said. "I've never seen you summon Shade."

Reven had no idea where to start, so he decided to start from the beginning. He held out his arm at the rock and said, "Douse." A small blast of water splashed harmlessly against the rocks, then slowly drained into the river.

"That was some simple Psynergy. There a many different varieties of Psynergy, as well as many different levels. Each level uses more Psynergy, but it is increasingly powerful. The stronger the adept, the higher the level of psynergy that the adept can use. Djinn are elemental creatures that represent an elemental power. Adepts establish subconscious links with Djinn and can then call upon them at will. Each Djinn has a different effect when called upon. For instance..."

In his mind he called upon Shade. Shade instantaneously responded and a shimmering, clear blue barrier formed around Reven and Shade. He continued.

"Shade's summon creates an impenetrable barrier around Shade and I, or anyone else I wish to protect. However, the larger the field the less it lasts, because this barrier is directly linked to Shade's Elemental strength. I can hold this for a long period of time, however Shade will get weaker. Try attacking me with your sword," he ordered Silvia.

"Are you sure?" She asked, skeptically, yet still drawing her rapier. Reven nodded. She clasped her sword in both hands, and half-heartedly swung it at Reven. The sword struck the barrier and stopped. With a resounding clang it bounced off, the barrier was left untouched. Silvia was shocked and impressed at the same time. Reven continued.

"Now, Shade's effect can only last so long as he has the strength for it. There are some Djinn that also have the same effect as Shade that last an extended period of time. These are support Djinn. There are other Djinn, like Fever, That expend their energy all at once. It may be short, yet they are usually very powerful. These are attack Djinn."

Shade was forced to interrupt. "Hurry it up. I won't last for too much longer."

Reven continued. "Now once a Djinn has used up its power, they transfer the rest of their power to the Adept, whose power is then multiplied for a short period of time."

At this point, the watery barrier faded from around Reven. However, Reven and Shade where covered in a bright blue aura. He held out his arm again and said, "Douse." A rush of water, ten times stronger than before, blasted forth from his outstretched arm and smashed against the boulder. As powerful as it was, it still didn't move the boulder at all.

Reven bowed. "And that is how to properly summon a Djinn. Oh, and one last thing. After you summon a Djinn, their power has been drained. They will need to recover for a time before you can summon them again."

Then Flint spoke up. "Well then, thank you for the demonstration, Reven. As he said before, I would fall under the 'attack' Djinn category. However, first we must establish a link between the two of us. This will allow you to call upon me easily, as well as slightly boost your own capabilities."

"Okay, but how exactly do we establish a link?" She asked.

"It shouldn't be too hard. Because I am an Earth Elemental creature, you should be able to use your Psynergy on me. When you do reverse the connection to link our minds. Now use some form of Psynergy on me."

Silvia concentrated. All of her attention was focused on Flint. In her mind, she reached into the well of power she had been drawing upon to use Psynergy and pushed it slightly towards Flint. Immediately it was pulled in then shoved back at her. This time when it came back it was accompanied by a new source of power. She could feel that it would be easily accessible for her and she would be able to control all of its power.

"There you go," Flint said. "Now you can summon me. If you access that power source, you will unleash my power into you. It will give an immediate boost to your physical strength directly from my power for a few, brief seconds."

"Now what?" Silvia asked.

"How about we demolish this road block for starters." Flint said. "Summon me now."

Silvia explored the new power that had appeared and released it. Instantly she felt an incredible surge of power. She could feel every things presence around her. Her senses had been increased drastically and she could feel ho powerful she had become. She faced the boulder, and with her already drawn rapier in her hand, she raised it above her head and lunged at the boulder. The rapier flashed a golden orange in the air above her head and for a split second she hung in the air, then came crashing down, swinging her sword down in front of her. Instead of the sword hitting the rock and clashing off, the sword cleaved directly through the boulder, pulverizing the once indestructible rock. The boulder was blown to pieces into many loose stones, many of which fell into the river beside. The rest just littered the path, now too small to be any sort of obstacle.

She stared at her sword, then herself which was now surrounded by a golden aura. Flint, who was also glowing, spoke. "Now use your Psynergy to get rid of the rest of these stones. Cast Spire and throw the rocks into the river."

Silvia held out her arm and said, "Spire!" The rest of the rocks in the cave shot straight up in the air, gathered to form a giant spike above the water, then splashed down into the water with a crash, soaking almost everything in the room.

Dumbfounded and soaking wet Reven and Erick stared at her in awe. Venus Psynergy was incredibly powerful because of its pure physical strength. Silvia turned back to the boys and smiled. Reven quickly changed his expression from surprised to impressed.

"Well," said Reven as he used his own Psynergy to remove the water from his clothes. "Remind me never to make you angry anymore."

They made their way through the rest of the cave without encountering any other obstacles or problems. Silvia was overly enthusiastic about her new found power. She couldn't stop thanking Flint for showing her how to summon him. She spent the entire rest of the trip through the cave clearing off all the smaller stones from the path with her power, no matter how small they were. Every time Reven tried to make a cynical comment about this, she would use her Psynergy to flick a small rock at him. She was enjoying the fact that it was a lot easier to access her incredible power.

When they were approaching the end of the cave, they can upon another river, which Reven suspected was the same one as before. The path led along side the river, so they followed it. Soon they saw the exit to the cave. From what Reven could see as they approached, it was slightly dark outside and seemed to be almost foggy. As they approached the exit, the temperature dropped rapidly. They had not been in the cave long and Reven was wondering how it could be so dark, so early in the day.

Reven squinted as he stepped out into the open. Immediately, Reven realized why it was so dark. The sky was covered in dark clouds that where blocking the light. However it was not what was covering the sky that had caught Reven's attention, but rather what was covering the ground. And that it was raining small white particles from the sky. The ground was covered in these particles making the entire landscape a giant white plain. It was eerily quiet and nothing could be heard but a light breeze. Reven reached down and put his hand into the white powder. It was cold and wet and turned into water in his hand. He immediately realized what this was. It was...

*POW*

A ball of the powder that was packed together smashed into his face from out of nowhere. It slowly slid down the side of his face and leaving a cold, wet mark on his face. It stung from the cold and the impact. Reven stood up and turned to the side. There he saw Erick laughing hysterically and Silvia with her hand over her mouth trying to suppress her laughter. The white was snow. He had heard about it from his cousin in Imil. It was frozen water in small portions to create a powder that fell from the sky when it was cold. Just really small ice. Water.

Reven laughed too. "Good one!" He yelled at Erick. Then without hesitation summoned his Psynergy.

Reven and Silvia had to spend the next few minutes digging Erick out of the snow. Reven had caused a giant drift to rise up and bury Erick in the snow. After they got him out and had a few laughs, Erick pointed out they needed to get moving. He grew up in a climate much like this, and could tell that the snow was going to start to fall harder very soon. They needed to get as far as they could before they could no longer travel due to the weather. They immediately set off north east.

Due north Reven could vividly see the outline of the Lighthouse. It lay across a small bay that they had to go around before reaching Imil. Reven calculated, during a short lunch break, that they could reach Imil just before sundown if they kept a good pace. However, the snow was getting deeper and deeper the more north they traversed. It began to greatly hinder their progress as Silvia kept getting stuck in the snow. It was very cold and even while wearing the clothes they had bought in Goma they were almost freezing to death. Reven didn't seem to mind the cold as much, but it still made him uncomfortable. As the afternoon passed the snow got worse and worse. All three of them were wearing all the clothes they owned to keep warm. Silvia was huddled close to Reven to keep warm as they walked on. Erick was lighting fires in his hands to keep them warm. Fever was keeping the rest of the Djinn warm with his internal body heat. Finally Reven looked north and could no longer see the light house. The wind had picked up and the snow was really coming down. Reven really wanted to reach Imil but that choice was long gone by that time. He turned to the rest of the team and yelled over the wind.

"Alright, that's far enough." He yelled. "I can no longer see the lighthouse. I have no more landmarks to follow. We need to set up camp somewhere that is protected from the wind and snow, and settle in for the night."

"Great idea," Erick said. "We'll never make it through the storm at this rate. There are some trees over there. They should provide some protection."

"I just want to be warm." Silvia said through her shivering lips. She grabbed Fever and held on to him for warmth.

They pushed their way through the snow to the trees. They managed to find an area without too much snow, and with Reven's Psynergy it was easy to clear an area for their tent. A large snowbank and the trees would be able to shield them from the storm. They quickly setup the tent, then piled into it and tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible, which meant that Silvia was using Reven as a close heat source. They watched and felt the snow slowly bury them from the inside of the tent. The wind outside was such a monotone sound that it quickly put them all to sleep.

*Whew*... And there's chapter 10. I had to get a lot of traveling out of the way and it turned out to be longer than I expected. But Reven and Co are almost at the Mercury Lighthouse, which will be coming up... Next Chapter. Please check out the penultimate chapter to Book I of Dusk of Weyard... coming soon.