Review Responses:

Dracobolt: OMG Dracobolt said I was good! (falls over and faints)

Elliott: She said your writing was good.

Same difference while I'm doing this.

Elliott: I thought you were unconscious.

Then why'd you talk to me?

Elliott: O.o Oh. Your. God. You. Are. Rubbing. Off. On. Me. (Runs off. Shower starts running. The sound of furious scrubbing can be heard.)

-Gets up- Rubbing off on you? I made you up! Ah well…TT Stupid Elliott…

(Swiftly remembers Dracobolt)Thank you Dracobolt!! Glad you're interested, here's the update! Hope it's still interesting after this…the plot hasn't really started yet…

Kris the Ninja Pirate: Thank you for the review, and for putting it in your faves! Here's chappy 2…sorry it took so long. Right now, Siblings is going to be my main project 'cause it's shorter than Guilt, so when Siblings is done, I can concentrate on this and this will be my main project! So it will speed up then!

Felix: If I know anything about you, your children will be reading this by then.

…I'm still in the Irish-equivalent-of-high school.

Felix: My point exactly.

-.-++ …Shall we move on to the story? (Brandishes giant meat cleaver wickedly)

Felix: O.O

Isaac rose from sleep slowly. His name was being called…but…he couldn't tell…was it Felix? Jenna? His mother? He didn't know. One moment, it was Jenna, anxious, echoing every now and then, along with her brother's. His was less frequent, but just as worried. The next, it was his mother's, not just worried but scared. Very scared…

"Isaac! Wake up! …For goodness' sake, Isaac! Wake up! The Mt. Aleph boulder is falling! Wake up now!" His mother's cries broke through his sleep. He lifted his head off the pillow and shook it. It was not morning, he knew that much; there was a storm outside. A truly awful one, too. Lightning flashed; the inside of the room was lit sparsely, the light leaking through the shutters on his window. His mother was wearing her pyjamas, with a heavier robe thrown on over them. She was shaking his shoulder hard enough to dislodge it from his body.

"'M up, 'm up," he mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He was helped by a terrific crash outside, from the north. …What had his mother said? About the boulder? …It couldn't be falling, could it? Part of him wondered what fool had thought to put a huge boulder on the top of a mountain. Part of him wanted to hide under the bed and cry. Isaac, however, jumped out of bed and followed his mother's example, pulling heavy overclothes on to protect him from the rain without bothering to take his pyjamas off. His mother offered him his cloak as he buckled on his machete. He pulled his boots on and they were off.

The ferocity of the storm really hit him when they were outside. Literally. The strength of the wind and rain combined nearly knocked him off his feet. Lightning flashed and illuminated everything for He clutched his cloak close to him-at least it was waterproof-and brushed his hair out of his eyes. It was wet enough to stick to his cheeks. He needed to get it cut again.

"Isaac!" He glanced up. His mother–Dora–was calling his name. "Isaac, are you listening?" He nodded, still holding his cloak tight to his body. "Your father and I are going to help evacuate the other villagers," she told him. "You get yourself down to the plaza as quickly as you can."

"But–"

"No buts! You'd need Psynergy to help, Isaac; you're too young yet. Neither of us wants to lose you. Go to the plaza where it's safe. We'll meet you there later." With that, she and his father, Kyle, dashed off, towards the houses of the other villagers. Towards the boulder. Isaac watched them go, his stomach performing performance-grade gymnastics.

Stop worrying, he told himself.

Felix watched Jenna get outside before he did so himself. She slipped on the pier their grandfather had built when he'd built the house; the old wood was wet and slippery. He caught her and helped her up. As he did, he heard a rumbling noise. He looked up, saw what it was. A small boulder. Not the Boulder, but a big enough boulder to hurt someone substantially. It was coming straight for them. He tensed, pulled his sister up, pushed her against the wall of the house, and threw all the Psynergy he had at it.

It caught the boulder in mid-air, making it fly a few feet further than it normally would have. Felix watched, drained, as the boulder landed in the river.

It caught one of the posts holding up the pier. The entire thing shook violently as a chunk of it disappeared into the raging water, throwing both siblings off their feet. Jenna hit the side of the house and fell to her hands and knees.

Felix lost his balance and, clawing desperately at the air, fell straight into the river. The water engulfed him and nearly swept him away. He hit a rock–hard–and clung to it with all his strength. After that stunt with the boulder, though, he didn't have much of that. He opened his mouth to call for help, and swallowed water. He could hear Jenna screaming like a banshee in the background to the roaring water, though. He left the screaming to her and concentrated on keeping his head above the water.

Isaac began to go south. Then he stopped, remembering Garet. His grandfather was the mayor; his parents were undoubtedly doing the same thing as Isaac's own. His sister, Kay, would be taking care of their brother, Aaron. So…that left Garet all alone. Isaac didn't like the sound of that. Garet was by no means stupid, but he was a little slow. Isaac didn't like the idea of Garet being all on his own at a time like this. Yet, his parents had told him quite clearly to get down to the plaza as soon as possible…

A boulder crashed to the ground in front of him, blocking his way south. Even if it hadn't been, it would have decided him. He couldn't leave his friend alone when it was this dangerous! He ran north, to Garet's house. Sure enough, Garet was still there, his family were long gone, and he was doing something stupid. He was trying to drag a huge chest of junk with him. He'd made it about…oh…six feet. He had to be stopped.

Isaac went over to him. "What in Venus' name are you doing?" he asked. Garet answered between heaves. At every heave, the chest moved another inch or so.

"I'm,"–one inch–"trying,"–one inch–"to"–two inches!–"save"–one inch–"my"–one inch–"things!" Isaac couldn't believe it. He shook his head in exasperation (and getting his hair out of his eyes.)

"Garet, why is that important?" Garet opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He thought for a moment.

"So…I should get out of here, and save my own life instead?" Isaac smiled and nodded. It took him a while, but Garet usually got the right answer. Garet grinned back and nodded his own head. "Right! Lead the way, Isaac!" If there was one thing they always agreed on, it was that Isaac was the leader. Garet and Kay would follow him around unquestioningly, while Jenna and her friend Thomas, the blacksmith's son, followed Felix. When the two groups joined up, there was always a short argument: Isaac or Felix? They either led jointly, or switched at intervals. The others were more prone to argue about it than the two themselves anyway.

Isaac led Garet north, in a roundabout route to the plaza, since the direct one was cut off. They went past Kraden's cottage–they checked inside just in case he was hurt or still asleep. Neither of them was particularly fond of the old man, especially since he treated Adepts like research subjects, but he was an old man. They couldn't just leave him there if he was there. Satisfied that he wasn't, they continued south when they heard a cry of "Boys!"

They turned around. Oh, Thomas, that wuss. He was lying on the ground, next to a boulder. Isaac wondered if he'd been hit, when a small, blue-and-purple mouse-like creature jumped out of the bushes. Thomas yelled and covered his eyes. Isaac dashed forward, swinging his machete wildly. The creature jumped back, surprised, then retaliated with a staff topped with what looked like a disembodied hand. Isaac took the hit, shielding his face with one arm, and impaled the little creature with his sword.

"Vermin," he muttered. That was what everyone in Vale called the little creatures, because they were. They attacked the hurt, old, and infirm, chewed through roofs, ate hay and grain meant for livestock and horses. They were perfect little vermin. He wiped his blade off on the grass and bent over to look at Thomas.

"What happened to you?" Garet asked.

"A boulder crushed the fence…I got hit with a post…then the Vermin attacked me…with the fence broken, they're everywhere…ah…" He struggled to get up, but couldn't. "I'm hurt pretty badly…do you think I'm gonna…die?" He seemed afraid to even voice the last word. Isaac thought it was pretty likely, with boulders falling all over the place, monsters running amok, and Thomas unable to walk, but he shook his head anyway; no point in scaring him worse than he was.

"No, of course not. You'll be fine!" he told him. As he said it, he felt something twist inside him and gasped. He shook his head to clear it, barely hearing Thomas talk.

"This is awful! I'm left out here for…for…ah…" Slowly, Thomas got to his feet. Isaac and Garet stared at him, Isaac still seeing dancing spots in front of his friend. "Huh. That's weird…I could have sworn…I'm not hurt at all!" A huge grin spread across his face and he nodded to Isaac and Garet. "I was serious about the monsters, though…obviously…so watch yourselves, okay? I've gotta go and meet my parents!" He dashed off and Garet looked at Isaac.

"…Uh, Isaac? You don't look too good. Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" Isaac shook his head; he was already feeling better.

"Nah. I'm fine. Just a slight shock, I guess…"

"We should get going."

"Yeah. Yeah," Isaac agreed with Garet, and led the way again.

"Felix!" Isaac wrung his scarf out for the ninth time, wrapping it around his neck an extra time to stop it from dragging the ground.

"Was that Jenna?" he asked Garet, yelling over the wind.

Garet nodded after a moment. He was out of breath. Garet wasn't much of an endurance runner. Isaac had to keep stopping for him to catch up. He motioned south, down a flight of steps to Felix and Jenna's house. They stopped at the banks of the river to see what was happening.

Felix had fallen in the river. He was clinging to a spur of rock level with Isaac and Garet. Felix's parents, Isaac's own, and Jenna were on the pier connected to Felix's house, trying to find some way to rescue him. They had a rope, but it was pitifully short; they'd never reach him with that. His mother and Jenna came off the pier and his mother saw him. "Isaac! What are you doing here?"

"We had to take a detour, with all the rocks," Isaac told her. "What happened…and how can we help?" Dora sighed.

"You can help Jenna find someone with Psynergy…unless you have some rope on you?" Isaac shook his head sadly, then brightened. He untied his scarf with some difficulty-it was wet, after all, and that knot had been in it for the past two years-and handed it to his mother.

"Can you use this?" His mother looked at it and took it to the others on the pier. They tied it to the rope as Isaac, Garet and Jenna crowded in closer to the bank. Kyle threw it as hard as he could; it landed just to Felix's right. Isaac and Jenna got very excited. The rope reached! Now Kyle just had to get it to Felix.

On the third try, he managed it. The rope landed next to Felix on the rock with an inaudible splat(Isaac imagined.) Felix spent a minute grabbing the rope without letting go of the rock, and their fathers hauled him to the pier and safety. They carried him to the banks while he coughed up all the water he'd swallowed. Jenna ran to him and hugged her brother so tightly she nearly strangled him.

Isaac and Garet hung back, watching. After about a minute, Garet's patience ran out and he began to fidget, then pace. Isaac stayed where he was, beside the river.

Thunder rumbled overhead, making Jenna remember where they were. She let go of Felix, and Sarah suggested they all go to the plaza. Everyone agreed.

There was another crash…but there had been no lightning. There hadn't been any lightning before, either… Isaac looked up, and went very pale.

Felix saw Isaac look up and freeze, and followed his gaze. Felix went as white as his friend and yelled hoarsely, "BOULDER!"

Too late. Jenna clung to him for comfort; Dora started to run for Isaac, but his father held her back; Kyle began to run as well, but slipped, and Isaac scrambled frantically to get away from the bank and fell, his boot stuck in the mud. The Boulder hit just behind the pier and bounced, landing practically next to Isaac. He gave up struggling and hid his head in his arms before a surge of water obscured him completely.

Felix looked up, soaking wet and breathless(again). The entire pier had been knocked away, along with half the banks of the river…and Isaac. Felix stared around him, shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes, and looked again. He was still gone.

…He had to go get help. If it hadn't been for Isaac, he'd have been in that river when the boulder hit. He had to help Isaac now, had to. He grabbed Garet's arm, and pulled him towards the southern part of the village. Garet stared at him blankly, then came back to himself. He nodded and they began running southwards.

Halfway there, Felix heard voices. He stopped underneath a ledge and waited for Garet to show up. Holding a finger to his lips for 'quiet', he listened. He didn't know these people. What were they doing in Vale?

"Who would have guessed Sol Sanctum would unleash such fury? We are the only ones left… out of the finest of our village…" Felix heard the creak and jingle of armor, and guessed it was a warrior. Why were they talking about Sol Sanctum? No-one went up there. The elders forbade it. Felix doubted it would be much more than dust anyway.

A female voice answered him. "Yes…I wonder if this is what the villagers mean when they speak of 'terrible retribution." …We should have been more careful." Both voices were cold and nearly emotionless. Felix did not think he wanted to meet their owners. He felt the urge to sneeze and instead wiped his nose on his sleeve. He felt five again.

"Still, next time…" Next time…Felix wondered…had they been into the Sanctum? Had they caused this? Clearly, they had lost a number of people to the storm too, but…they had no right! Who did they think they were?

Caught up in his anger, Felix had to stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from yelling. Unfortunately, with one hand in his mouth, and the other supporting his weight, he couldn't cover his nose. He sneezed. Loudly.

The voices stopped. Felix motioned to Garet to run, or hide, or something, and stepped out more. Hopefully they'd think it was just him. Garet looked like he wanted to refuse, but he ran back the way they'd come and hid behind a bush. None too soon. A man and woman appeared above the ledge. the man wore a blue-grey breastplate and white trousers and had blue hair, the woman was blonde and wore light armor and a skirt. The oddest thing about them was their skin; his was blue with darker navy markings, hers pink with red. Both had scales covering their upper arms and shoulders. Both had red eyes and pointed ears.

Felix began to hope that Garet would stay hidden and come back somehow. He was sure he was going to die.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Felix was about to say no, then yes, and eventually, he settled for nodding his head slightly, afraid to speak. He tried to look braver than he felt, but he didn't trust his voice just then. The man narrowed his eyes. "I appreciate your honesty, but I'm afraid…" He drew his sword.

"You will have to forget everything you heard just now," the woman finished, holding a large scythe. they jumped down and pounced on him. Felix blacked out, hoping against hope that Garet would get away.

He woke up in the sanctum. Garet was on a bed next to him. Beds had been set up in the sanctum for anyone who'd been injured. Apparently, a lot of people had. Felix tried to sit up, catching the healer's eye.

"No, no Felix. Lie down. You were hurt quite badly, you need to rest." Felix lay back down and asked how long he'd been there.

It had been three days since the storm. Felix had been unconscious all that time. Garet as well. They'd been found a little way east of Felix's house-what was left of it-and they'd been brought there for healing. The healer asked what had hurt him and Garet, and Felix began to answer. …But, he couldn't remember what had happened. The healer accepted this easily, saying that few people remembered exactly how they'd gotten hurt, and told him to stay there while he brought food. Once he wasn't looking, Felix eased himself into a sitting position, using his pillow and the wall to support himself. He scanned the room, didn't see what he was looking for, and worked up the courage to ask as the healer turned away after bringing his soup.

"…Did Isaac–" The healer avoided his gaze.

"…No. He isn't here. They looked, and they're still looking, but…they haven't found him." He laid a hand on Felix's shoulder and walked off. Felix stared at his soup, and for a while he didn't want it. He forced it past the lump in his throat anyway. They'd find him. He had to be out there somewhere.

Isaac stumbled for the fourth time that morning. If it was morning. He wasn't sure. He'd woken up on a riverbank about two hours ago…he thought. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. He'd gotten the hell away from that river, though, as quickly as he could…until it occurred to him that anyone who was looking for him would probably follow the river. By then he'd been a long way away from it. He'd tried to find it again, but he'd failed. He'd tried to find the road, but he'd failed. Now he was hopelessly lost in the woods, and trying to go north. He hoped to the gods he was going north.

He fell against a tree trunk, exhausted beyond words. He hadn't eaten or drank anything since he'd fallen in the river. He didn't have anything to eat or drink. He sank to the ground. He needed to rest. He needed food. He needed…

He froze. …Footsteps were approaching him. From…the right? No, the left. He stood up, letting the tree do all the supporting his legs usually did. "Hey! he yelled. "Hey, over here! Help!" His voice sounded strange to him from not using it for several days. The footsteps stopped and, after a pause, began to move over his way.

A man and a woman came into view. For a fleeting instant, Isaac was scared of them, but he was more scared of being left out in the woods to die. "C–can you help me?" he asked. "I'm from Vale, to the north…I fell into the river during the storm…"

"Why aren't your own people helping you?" the woman asked, her voice harsh.

"They just haven–haven't found me yet. I probably wasn't the only one who was hurt or lost, anyway… Will you help me?" The woman frowned at him and opened her mouth. The man silenced her with an upraised hand, a mirthless smile on his face.

"Yes, we'll help you." Isaac brightened up.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Come here," he said. Isaac stumbled over to the man and was slung over his shoulder. Isaac didn't really like the indignity of it, but on the other hand, he didn't think he was capable of walking just then. So he passed out like that and stayed that way for quite a while. Every time he woke up, they were still in the forest. They gave him food whenever he woke up, and now and then they built a fire for him. Something seemed wrong about them, but Isaac was too relieved at being found, and too weak, to figure it out.

It sunk in when he saw the ship. He woke up in a wood-panelled cabin with a window, a bed, and a change of clothes. The door was locked. The man or woman would leave food in the cabin while he was asleep. He had no chance of escaping.

It was several weeks before they stopped sailing. The door to his cabin opened suddenly, and the man was standing there. He motioned with his head for Isaac to follow him. Isaac pulled on the cloak they'd given him–it had been getting gradually colder–and followed him up on deck. He didn't seem to mind the cold, and neither did his partner. Isaac joined them at the railing, one on each side of him, and looked northward.

Everything was covered in snow. They were in a dock just off a large river. About a mile to the north it became a glacier. The man told him that they were walking from there on, and stepped off the ship. The woman shoved him forward and he went, clutching his cloak to him. It was freezing. He wished they'd thought to give him gloves.

They walked for several hours, the man setting an easy pace for Isaac to follow once he saw how unused to the snow he was. It was truly unpleasant stuff after a while. It was deep, coming nearly up to Isaac's waist, and with every step, he plunged down through it. He walked in the path the man made, but it was still hard going. Finally, they arrived at an archway made of antlers and hardwood. Isaac stopped and stated the obvious.

"This is not Vale."

The man turned to look at him. "No. This is Prox."

"Why am I here?"

"You are from Vale." It wasn't a question, so Isaac saw little point in denying it.

"Yes."

"Then you are an Adept." Isaac jumped and stared at the word. The man watched him for a moment, then walked over to him. Cupping his palm, he held it in front of Isaac. His entire body glowed and a fireball appeared in his hand without burning it. Isaac continued to stare, faintly aware that his mouth was hanging open.

Heat! Blessed heat! He edged closer to the fireball.

"Does this mean you aren't an Adept?" Again, Isaac saw little point in lying, so he answered truthfully.

"No…I…just…We didn't think there were Adepts outside Vale…" Saturos shook his head.

"Deluded fools…So you weren't using Psynergy because you didn't want us to know you had it? Can you call fire, like us?" Isaac shook his head. "Which element, then? Earth, wind or water?"

"Earth…" He swallowed. "I can…," he looked up, faintly ashamed of his poor skill, "…make plants grow." The man looked at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Well…that's a start…pathetic, maybe, but…" He cleared his throat and it occurred to Isaac that he didn't have much experience of problems that couldn't be solved with a blade. Or of people younger than 20. …Or of people who felt cold. His hands were rapidly turning the same colour as the man's own. He'd lost sensation in them about ten minutes ago. He found himself edging closer to the fireball again. He was going to set his clothes aflame if this kept up.

"What is your name?" He moved the fireball a little way away from Isaac but didn't put it out.

"Isaac."

"Well…I'm Saturos. This is Menardi. Do you know why you're here?" Isaac hazarded a guess.

"You're kidnapping me and ransoming me off?"

Saturos shook his head. "We have need of your assistance in a very grave matter."

"…Because I'm an Earth Adept?" Saturos nodded.

"We are not asking, now. We are telling you that for the next few years, you will be helping us."

"Can I ask my parents?"

"No. That would involve a trip back to Angara."

"Can I send letters home?"

"No. That, again, would involve a trip to Angara."

Isaac stared at him. …He seemed to be completely trapped in this place.

"How long…"

"I can quite honestly say I have no idea. Until you learn to use Psynergy properly." Saturos didn't look like he was optimistic about the prospect of waiting for that.

"What are you doing?"

"We will explain later." Menardi was getting quite impatient; she was the one who'd spoken. "Are you coming or not?"

Isaac hesitated; still distrustful of them, when Saturos said, "The town hall has a big fireplace."

Fire first. Doubts second.

Okay! Two chapters done! By now, the premise is clear, and the plot should be clear by…um…

Elliott: What she means is, if you figure out the plot before she does, let her know. …Why is the carpet suddenly red and wet?

…No reason.

Elliott: Where's Felix?

…He went out…yeah…ignore that large shape behind the curtain… Now, what were you implying about my planning abilities?

Elliott: o.o …Nothing. I swear.

Felix: (enters room) What are we arguing about now? Sorry, I was in the jon.

Just kidding! XD I spilled some Ribena. …Hey, why'd she just faint?

Felix: (?) Well, anyway… Read and review!

Yeah! Since I don't have a plan, I can take suggestions and requests on board!