When Raine and Genis arrived that afternoon, Lloyd and Colette in tow, they were greeted with a hopeful Aramina. She'd been restless all day, hoping that Lloyd would be able to find her locket.

Aramina's eyes locked onto Lloyd the moment he entered the room. "Lloyd, I have a favor to ask. I know you've already done a lot for me and all, but…"

Lloyd nodded. "What do you need?"

"I lost a necklace, probably before you found me. I was hoping that… maybe you could… look for it for me? I don't know when Raine'll let me out of bed, and I don't want it having any more time than necessary to start breaking down or get broken or something. Please?"

The brunette nodded again. "I don't know where it is, but I'll look. I guess it may be where I found you… I'll check when I head home, okay? What's it look like?"

Aramina looked hopefully at Lloyd. "It's a gold chain with a gold pendant on it. There's a sapphire starburst-like pattern on the front of the pendant, and silver vines twisting around it into a sapphire Phoenix on the back. Please, it means a lot to me…"

The previously unnoticed and unmentioned Colette spoke up from beside Lloyd. "Don't worry! If anyone can find it, Lloyd can!" she chirped, clearly trying to cheer Ara up.

Aramina blinked confusedly at the blonde. "H-hi… I'm Aramina… you?"

"I'm Colette!" she said, grinning.

"It's nice to meet you, Colette," she said, managing a small smile. Colette's was infectious!

"I'm glad you're okay! Everyone was worried when they saw how badly you'd been bleeding… Grandmother said it would be a miracle from the Goddess Martel herself if you survived!"

Aramina jolted. Martel…? Huh? Sounds kinda familiar… I probably heard it when I was younger… "Well, maybe Martel blessed me then, huh?" she said lightly, trying to hide how strange it was to be talking about a Goddess she hadn't grown up believing in. Her foster parents had believed her to be a miracle sent from above, and had raised her to pray to the elements and, in some cases, the deities who represented them. Of course, that had made them all the more shocked when she'd started swearing, since she usually referred to them when swearing… Uh-oh, I'll have to be careful. If they suddenly hear me swear 'by the elements' or something, they might get suspicious, or upset. Though, come to think of it, that guy in my dream used 'by the elements,' which seems a bit strange if the Goddess here is Martel. Maybe I'll ask when I see him again…Assuming it wasn't some weird dream from my subconscious.

No one seemed to notice that she'd zoned out, Colette and Raine talking about something while Lloyd and Genis had gone off to the kitchen. Lloyd was telling Genis not to use tomatoes. Aramina chuckled a bit, but was kind of glad. She didn't like tomatoes herself, and they could be expensive, so she wasn't forced to get them to avoid starving or anything. No, what were usually cheapest were the things like rice and bread. Well, it was actually more like the flour and such to make it, but she didn't exactly have time to be making stuff like that while traveling, and bread was still cheap. And didn't tend to go bad before being eaten.

It didn't take long for Genis to make up some sandwiches, which Lloyd and Aramina absolutely devoured, and some coffee. Aramina passed on that, opting instead for water. Coffee wasn't exactly her first choice of drink. Too bitter.

After lunch, Raine, Genis, Lloyd and Colette left again, heading back to class. Aramina grabbed another book from the table, and set to reading, falling asleep not a half hour later. Raine found her that way when she returned, and she remained such until dinner, though Raine moved the book.

The next day, Lloyd had arrived early, with Aramina's locket. As it turned out, it was part of a large set his foster father, Dirk, had been commissioned to make several years ago, and was made of gold-plated Inhibitor Ore, which prevented exspheres from making the user sick, and was laced with Aionis, a rock that, when ingested, allowed one to use magic, and when used in accessories or armor provided resistance to magic, as well as allowing one to channel mana more effectively and efficiently. The phoenix on the back also turned out to be an exsphere, albeit a small, not very powerful one, almost useless except as a tiny boost to one's abilities and a pretty gem. Regardless, the next week, after Raine had given the okay, Lloyd had started teaching her how to utilize what power she could get out of her Exsphere, and she'd learned a variation of the basic sword technique, called Shockwave instead of the Demon Fang that Lloyd was able to use.

Of course, Genis had tried to see if she had the potential to use magic after seeing her quick ability to pick up on using Shockwave, but the silverette had failed miserably, conjuring up only a few sparks when attempting to use Fireball. Of course, those sparks had also managed to catch on her hair, and she'd had to have Raine cut off a couple inches of it to get rid of the singed bits…

That had been nearly a month ago, now. Raine had allowed Aramina to stay with her and Genis, and Ara became not only Raine's new student, but her helper around the house, splitting the cooking duties with Genis, and the cleaning with both Genis and Raine. Raine was banned from the kitchen due to her inedible cooking. Aramina still shuddered at the memory of Raine's Chocolate Chile Pudding. Raine didn't seem to get that sweet and spicy don't mix.

Ara had been in Iselia for almost twice that long, and was currently being dragged out of the Sage house by Lloyd, Colette and Genis.

"Guys, come on! I need to study!" she laughed, trying to get back inside with the books.

"Nu-uh, Raine told us to get you. You'll have more fun this way anyway!" Genis said, holding on to Ara's right hand.

"Yeah! We'll ha- woah!" Colette tripped, pulling Aramina down with her as she fell.

Lloyd looked down at the heap, Colette having landed on top of Genis and Ara on top of her. He blinked, and then burst into laughter. "I want in on the dog-pile, but I think Genis wants out…!" he said, said mage scrabbling at the dirt as he tried to move. Aramina grinned and rolled off, Colette following suit. Genis just laid there, panting as he caught his breath.

"Never… again…" he moaned, rolling onto his back.

Lloyd burst into laughter again.

To Aramina, her time in Iselia seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Lloyd turned seventeen, and Raine, Genis, Dirk, Colette, and Ara threw a party for him. Genis turned twelve and received the same treatment and a letter from the Palmacosta Academy. Fall came and turned the leaves of the trees a crisp gold. Colette's sixteenth birthday rapidly approached. Ara, after hearing of the last one, started doing odd jobs for Dirk to earn a commission for the cheery blonde, wanting to get her a bracelet, and possibly a pair of earrings, after having gotten the boys each something for their birthdays, a carving knife and some cookies she'd made with Genis for Lloyd, and a book of myths for Genis.

But amidst all the excitement, Aramina and Genis had noticed some changes in Raine. The teacher seemed more and more worried as time passed and she spent more time with each student, often coming home late after staying behind with another student.

Eventually, Genis had confronted her about it.

"Raine, what is wrong with you lately!"

"Hmm?" she asked, turning from her book to look at her brother.

"You're always late getting home, you look like you're not getting enough sleep, and you aren't eating as much as you usually do either!"

"I'm fine, Genis."

"No, you are not!" he insisted, "Tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm a little stressed, that's all. Now, I'm going to bed. Good night," she said, walking into the other room and laying down. Genis groaned in exasperation, but Raine had effectively ended the conversation.

"Good night, sis. Good night…"

Aramina smiled and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Good night, Genis. Go get some rest."

"Yeah, I'm tired anyway… Good night, Ara."

After another month, Ara had successfully earned a commission from Dirk. Both pieces were made of white silver, a material uncommon in the Iselia area, but which Dirk could order cheaply from the Asgard area. The bracelet was made of intertwining leaves of all different shapes and sizes, none the same as any other on the bracelet, but it was the earrings she'd been happiest about. Over the time she'd spent with the girl, she had noticed Colette normally just wore plain silver earrings, hardly noticeable. But these were absolute masterpieces in their own right. Each one was a beautiful acorn, and inside were tiny clappers which made a musical tinkling sound as they moved. She grinned brighter than even Colette normally did as she walked back through the forest to the Sage residence, her earnings carefully wrapped in cloth and put into a bag she'd slung over one shoulder. And, to top it of, she'd learned something about her necklace while working with Dirk and Lloyd to earn her commissions.

Sixteen years ago…

It was sunset, and Dirk was finishing up a project for a young man in Triet, a wrought-iron rose for his beloved, when he heard a loud rap at the door. He set the rose down and opened the door to find a young man with dark brown hair and green eyes standing outside.

"Cen I help yeh?" he asked, his voice thickly accented. He'd been having a difficult time adjusting to the surface, but he'd been getting better.

"I would like to make a project request."

"I see. Come in."

"Thank you," the young man said, walking into the room. Dirk directed him to the table, where they both took a seat, across from each other.

"So, what kinda request are you askin'?"

"I'd like to request seven lockets, as close to identical as you can get. My wife drew the design, I have it here." He pulled a sheet of rolled-up paper from his pocket, passing it across the table. On the page was a golden oval, a Sapphire starburst-like pattern spreading from the exact center. Silver vines wrapped around the outer edge of it, and there was a second view, of the back, where the silver vines coiled into a cluster, once more in the center, and bloomed into a Sapphire firebird, or Phoenix as they were more commonly called. Next to everything were the materials they wanted them made from. Dirk whistled.

"This could be difficult. And 'ya need seven?"

"Yes. We're doing it as a… Family thing, you could say. How long do you think it'll take?"

"At least a coupla months. Possibly more."

"I understand. I'll come see the progress in two months, is that alright?"

"I s'pose. But why not just give me a way to reach you? Ah can let you know when they're ready."

"Err, my family moves around a lot…"

"Ahh, I see. A'right."

"Thank you…"

Afterward, Dirk had mentioned that, five years later, the man had come back and asked for another. That meant that there were seven of them aside from hers, somewhere in the world with her family members. Hopefully.

After a few more months, Raine had started seeming more like her normal self again. Aramina had also noticed that Genis seemed to be becoming more independent, and the young boy had taken to coming home later than usual, though he never said why. Aramina assumed it was because he'd been hanging out with Colette and Lloyd, so never commented on it, always hurrying to the Sage residence to work on homework and lessons almost as soon as school let out. She was dreadfully behind the others her age, and determined to catch up. Then the day of the Oracle arrived.

Aramina stifled a giggle as she heard Lloyd snoring softly behind her. Her mind had been wandering again, but his had shut down, the standing brunette somehow managing to fall asleep even while holding buckets of water. She grinned as he snored for a few more minutes, until Raine turned her attention to the sleeping teen.

"Lloyd Irving, what is the purpose of the Journey of Regeneration?" His only answer was a loud snore before falling back into the steady rhythm of sleep. Raine's eye twitched. "Lloyd Irving!" When he still didn't answer, she grabbed the eraser from the blackboard and threw it at Lloyd, knocking him over and sending water sloshing all over the back row from Lloyd's buckets. Aramina sighed, her back, pants and hair all soaked because she sat directly in front of Lloyd.

Raine rubbed her forehead for a moment before turning her attention to the rest of the class. "Anyone else?"

Colette raised her hand.

"Yes, Colette, go ahead."

"It's a journey to seal away the Desians."

"Yes, I suppose I should expect the Chosen herself to know that. So, can anyone tell me who ended the Ancient Kharlan War?"

Genis' hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Genis."

"The Hero Mithos."

"Yes. The Hero Mithos ended the war by creating a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal away the Desians."

Lloyd had finally managed to stand up again, though his hair and clothes were dripping. "But now the Desians are back, and causing everyone to suffer!"

"We covered that in class last time, Lloyd. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, that's right…"

"Now then, can anyone-" Raine cut off as a bright light filled the schoolhouse, which faded just as quickly as it appeared. "Class, I want you to study on your own, I'll go see what's happening."

Colette jumped out of her chair. "I'll go with you! I think that was the Oracle!"

"No, stay here. If it is the Oracle, the Priests will come for you."

"O-okay."

Raine nodded shortly and walked out of the room.

Aramina turned around to check on Lloyd, watching as he looked out the window. Raine hurried by, and he continued watching her for a minute before turning and walking toward the door.

Genis hurried to block him. "Lloyd, what are you doing! Raine said to stay and study!"

"It's research!"

"That's just an excuse…"

"So? A reason is a reason, right?"

Genis sighed and hung his head in resignation. "You just won't give it up, will you?"

"Nope. Besides, aren't you curious about it too?"

"Well, kinda…"

"See? Hey, Colette, Ara, you two are coming too, right? Colette, aren't you curious about the Oracle?"

"Well, yeah, but… Are you curious?"

"Of course I am!"

"Well then… Okay. I'll go with you guys," Colette said.

Ara sighed, not even planning on arguing. It was pointless against Lloyd. "I'm not so sure we should… But I'll admit I want to see the Oracle too…"

"Alright! Let's go then!" Lloyd said, leading the way out of the classroom.