Mr.Who2123: Well, I won't be able to finish today…so over the weekend for sure…I hope. Well, I don't own anything related to Tales of Symphonia.
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Phaidra was the lead priestess of the Church of Martel. She loved everyone, despite any differences or strange characteristics. Her face was almost a permanent smile that could radiate the room. Her kindness and humor would keep the old priests of Martel in a cheery mood whenever there was any trouble. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail, falling to her shoulders. It was a light golden color, and reflected the light of the sun beautifully. The priestess was about thirty-five at this time, but her faith in the Goddess was as strong, if not, stronger than the other priests that have dedicated their lives to the church. Phaidra had a small body, with thin limbs, but she was strong. She was filled with stubborn strength, and never relied on others to help her, unless it was absolutely necessary. On one occasion, it was particularly difficult for her when she broke her arm. She was required, as lead priestess, to hold the book of Martel with both hands, and read from the ancient language. With her arm in a sling, however, she couldn't hold the book with both hands, and was forced to have a priest hold one side of the book while she held the other side. During the sermon, Phaidra was red the whole time.
When Phaidra heard of a small family running from Desians had entered the village, she made it a priority to make them feel at home. She invited Kratos and his wife and child to her home for some dinner, and prepared arduously for it. She made fresh noodles with butter sauce (to Kratos' GREAT fortune) and had fresh roast beef with steamed vegetables. A meal of that caliber is greatly significant especially for the smaller village Iselia was. Many did not have the money or materials to create such a fantastic feast, and looked at the new people with awe. They were special enough to get an amazing meal from the lead priestess herself, and that made them worth the people's attention.
When the family crept inside the nice, two story house, they smelled the wonderful aroma of food being cooked. The scent welcomed them inside, and Kratos closed the door with his hand. The other held Lloyd, who peered about the house with awe; his big, brown eyes studying every detail.
"I go down?" he asked softly. His voice sounded as though he was afraid to upset the mystical feeling about the house. Kratos looked about a little more before complying and setting him down softly.
"Come in, everyone!" a voice called from the room to the right. They turned their heads to that area, and slowly began walking forward. Lloyd held tight to his father's hand as they did so, and his head did not stop turning every way it could to observe the house. When the family came inside, Phaidra was happily finishing her sauce when they did come in. She saw them from the corner of her eye, and stopped the cooking. She grabbed a towel and wiped her hands before approaching the family.
"Welcome to my house. I'm Phaidra, the lead priestess," she introduced. They never had a chance to really meet before the dinner, so the greetings were not strange. Kratos saw her stick out her hand, and the Seraph shook it with a smile. Anna did the same, introducing the family.
"This is Kratos, I'm Anna," she began when Phaidra let her hand drop. "And this is Lloyd." The mother placed a hand on his shoulder, and Lloyd looked up to his mom before watching Phaidra in wonder. The priestess crouched down, placing her hands on her knees, and then stuck one out.
"Hello, Lloyd," she said. She had a smile on her benign face, and Lloyd watched it a bit before sticking out his little hand. Phaidra shook it happily, and then went up to her full height. "Take a seat; I'm almost done with the sauce." The family looked right to a table for four, and each sat in three. The chairs were padded velvet, and comfy to sit in. Lloyd smiled at the new feeling and bounced in it.
It was only a couple minutes later that the family saw Phaidra pouring white, creamy sauce over the yellow noodles inside a large pan. Setting it in the middle of a table, she then turned and grabbed the vegetables and meat. Plates and silverware were already on the table, so there was no worry about that. Lloyd grabbed his spoon, and dug it into the noodles without Phaidra even at the table.
"Lloyd, wait for Mrs. Brunel!" Anna hissed. Lloyd took the spoon out and set it down, of course after eating a noodle that had stuck onto it. The hostess laughed when she sat down shortly after.
"Don't worry about it. You don't have to be so formal," she laughed kindly. Lloyd understood, and got a big spoonful of noodles before Anna could tell him it was alright. Shortly after grabbing those, he obtained vegetables from the basket, and received a slice of meat from Kratos. The Seraph cut the meat into tiny pieces while Lloyd inhaled noodles and vegetables in giant bites.
"So…how long have you been together as a couple?" the priestess asked, looking to both of them with benevolence.
"About four years now," Anna answered, patting her husband on the shoulder. He smiled and continued eating. He was not a fun of talking, obviously, and would let his wife do all of it. Lloyd looked up at the priestess in a mouthful of roast beef, and watched her carefully place her food into her mouth. The boy slowed his chewing, and then swallowed the mass of food.
"How old are you, Lloyd?" Phaidra asked when she noticed the toddler was watching her. Lloyd, caught off by the question, jumped when she said that, and thought a moment.
"Three!" he exclaimed. He put three fingers up to show her what he meant, and Phaidra smiled. The four continued eating until Phaidra suddenly stopped, and her usual smile became serious.
"I heard you are being chased by Desians…do you need any aid from us?" she asked. Kratos and Anna glanced at each other, and then nodded in approval. Their appetites suddenly left them, too, and they set down their forks with a soft clang of metal on metal.
"No, I think we're good…but we need to find a dwarf capable of making a type of Key Crest," Kratos answered, watching the woman with a piercing gaze. He analyzed the woman deeply. He could never be too careful about anyone. With the question, Phaidra's face brightened, and a small grin tugged at her lips.
"There's a dwarf who does that…he lives north of here, past the ranch," she answered. Kratos and Anna widened their eyes, and stood up.
"Excuse us, but we've been looking for a dwarf for years…we need to go now," he explained. Phaidra stood up as well, not minding the rush at all.
"Well, good luck on your travels, wherever they may lead," she concluded. Anna happily shook it, and nearly skipped out with Lloyd wobbling after her in confusion. Kratos gave thanks to Phaidra before he ran out with haste.
The family basically ran to the exit of the village, with Anna and Lloyd on Noishe while Kratos walked very quickly. His smile was plastered on his face, and never left as they walked.
"You're going to be saved, Anna!" he exclaimed, hugging her. Anna laughed and gave him one back before giving him a quick kiss. Lloyd giggled at all the ecstasy and excessive movements made by his parents, and clapped his hands.
It was a couple hours after noon when they left the village, and still had some time to get to the house of which Phaidra spoke of. The trees quickly thickened into forests, and the paths became worn dirt ones that sometimes ended abruptly and then started up again a couple yards further. Myriads of animal noises could be heard in the forest, and Lloyd loved them. He tried to imitate squirrels the whole way through, but sounded more like a laughing old man than a squirrel.
"A012 has been sighted. Move at full speed!" a voice suddenly called from the distance. A Desian, with binoculars, had sighted the family, and was showing the team leader the location. None other than Kvar had shown up, his thing eyes analyzing the party from far away.
"That's her! Get them!" he yelled. The Desians roared in approval, and began running towards the group with all their haste that heavily armored men could muster. Kratos whispered something in Noishe's ear, and the dog suddenly ran off in full speed. The speed of an Arshis is up to three times the speed of a normal human, four if it's one as heavily armed as a Desian. Kratos also began running, after he let his wings spread out, giving him extra balance and speed.
The Desians stopped at the sight of the wings, their awe incredible as the man disappeared almost as fast as the protozoan. Kvar gritted his small teeth and stamped his foot on the floor. The hate of humans was constantly growing inside of him, but it was skyrocketing after this.
Kratos is an angel that betrayed Cruxis! This is why humans are disgusting inferior being! He yelled in his mind before turning to his men.
"We need to move right-!" he stopped, listening.
"…on these corrupt souls. Rest in peace, sinners! JUDGMENT!!" Kratos cast, and then his voice disappeared. The sky darkened, the fear in the Desians grew tenfold, and mana welled in the area. In a moment, white, bright lights flashed down upon many of the five hundred Desians, the power near overwhelming. Kvar cast a Guardian over himself, but many of his other men fell at the hands of the devastating spell. Of the five hundred Desians, only about fifty were left from the blow.
He must have wasted most of his energy on that attack…while he is weak, I'll kill him! The leader thought, beckoning his lucky men to follow. Hundreds of bodies littered the dirt floor, soiling it with blood and metal. Within the hour, all of the corpses had disappeared, and had been eaten by hungry monsters watching from the sidelines.
Kratos moved as quickly as his energy deprived body could. The spell, even with a Faerie Ring, had caused major mana depletion, and if he used much more, he'd be doomed. He had barely caught up to Noishe, who had slowed his pace for the Seraph. Not much far behind, Kvar's cursing and running could be heard. Lloyd had become silent the whole time. It was as if the young boy knew that they were in a hard situation, and had decided not to pester anyone with talk.
Dodging trees, jumping through bushes, and running over rocky terrain, the teams both moved with haste; one running for their lives, the other trying to take the others. Noishe had begun to tire out quickly, and begun slowing down his pace. It was now down to about a human running full speed, but that was incredibly slow for one as strong as the Arshis. Noishe's tongue rolled out of his canine mouth, and his dark, beady eyes were focused on moving forward, and nothing else.
"Kratos, come back here!" the evil shriek of Kvar sounded. Kratos made no response whatsoever, but Anna turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. The thin eyes narrowed on the test subject, and locked onto her. His teeth ground against each other fiercely, and his anger began seeping out of him.
The mad glare turned into a sneer when Kratos and Anna passed the Iselia Human Ranch, and beyond that, cliffs were above the paths, portentously waiting for someone to move across them. They were extremely dangerously, but were the fastest way to the dwarf's home, and might be the only solution for the Aurion family.
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Mr.Who2123: Sorry for the lack of updates(which is like, only a couple days) and…AHH!! WE'RE ALMOST DONE!!!! The next couple of chapters, I will try to make dramatic and action-packed, so get ready!!!! WOOT! Oh, and please review!!!