Before-words:

1. Forgot to say so in the first chapter, so I'll get this out of the way now: I don't own Golden Sun, or any of the non-original characters here, et cetera. Supporting the actual owners is a good idea.

2. There are a couple seemingly small details in this chapter that will become important later, despite what some of them may seem like.

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CHAPTER 3: CAPTIVE OF RESPONSIBILITY

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Late in the night, approaching morning, Ayuthay Palace

The man clenched his hand into a fist, and the water Amiti had sent upon him froze into a wall of ice, separating Amiti from him. He then slowly opened his fist, and the wall separated into a number of chunks. These chunks then slowly reformed, eventually becoming sharp, spear-like shafts. The man pointed all five left hand long fingers at Amiti, and the shafts pointed their tips at him, like an arrangement of compass needles pointing to a magnet.

Amiti frantically tried to neutralize the threat. He tried to reorient the shafts, tried to melt them back to water, tried to push them toward the man, but all in vain. They wouldn't budge. Beads of sweat fell from the ends of strands of his blue hair.

The man was just holding his deadly-looking ice shafts in place, menacing Amiti, but not actually attacking. It was as if he enjoyed watching Amiti squirm.

Amiti decided his last option was to try to attack the man, to break his focus and hopefully catch him off guard. He started to gather his (exhausted) energies together again.

But before he could act, the man released his missiles, which flew at him. Amiti held his breath.

The spikes of ice stabbed into the wall and surrounded Amiti. There was one on each side, just an inch away of his head. Whoever this man was (Amiti had a certain suspicion), he had missed Amiti intentionally. Assassination was not his aim here. What does he want?

The man slowly approached Amiti. As he did so, he removed his hood. The light illuminated a suddenly familiar silver mask and was framed by long hair the same cyan shade as Amiti's. I knew it was him.

"Attack or resist me, and I shall destroy this whole palace… no, this whole city," Alex warned, with an infuriatingly smug grin on his face.

Can he really do that? Is he bluffing?

"You think I am bluffing. Do you really want to risk it? Your responsibility is to the people of Ayuthay, is it not? It would be rather irresponsible for you to cause its capital city and entire ruling class to be destroyed."

Amiti clenched his fists. He had been completely outmaneuvered. It was as if Alex had been in reading his mind the whole time.

"But thankfully for you, I believe in using carrots as well as sticks. You may have some questions about your origins, no? I can answer them, but only if you leave this place by my side."

It just keeps getting worse and worse…

Amiti hated to give in without much of a fight, but he realized he really had no choice. Alex had complete power over him, and there was nothing he could do, really. He had no idea exactly how powerful Alex was, but he was much stronger than Amiti, and for all Amiti knew, maybe Alex could lay the city to waste. If he went with Alex, there was always the possibility he could escape later on, when the stakes weren't so high. And besides, in his current state, there wasn't much he could do. Nonetheless, he didn't like it- he had a bad feeling about what Alex's plans for him were, and this felt like premature surrender.

"…I'll come," he said reluctantly.

"I knew you were a sensible person and wouldn't disappoint me," Alex remarked, grinning widely. Amiti didn't blame Rief for hating this man.

"You will now get your blade and your normal travelling attire," Alex commanded.

Amiti couldn't believe his ears. Alex was commanding him to arm himself? But then he remembered Alex's threat. He couldn't attack until they were far enough away from the city.

After Amiti had finished changing clothes and fetching items to take with him, Alex gave Amiti a cloak similar to his own. Amiti hoped he would be able to break free soon.

He felt deeply uneasy. Where am I going?

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

Morning, Ayuthay Inn

The morning sun light emanating from the open window stung Rief's eyes as he awoke. He had had a very bad dream last night, in which Alex had visited him during the night, promised not to harm him, gave him some bizarre cryptic message, and then killed him. Thankfully, it had been a dream.

He looked at the open window. Had that window been open before? I'm pretty sure it hadn't, he mused, perturbed. He got up and began to inspect the open window further, quickly discovering a note on the ground below it. He picked it up, and found that it said "Remember, the northern base of the highest peak in the land of the white doe."

Had it not been a dream? He wondered if Alex had only knocked him unconscious.

"You're up rather early, considering your usual habits, young man," a voice said from behind him.

Rief turned around to see Kraden's pleasantly smiling at him.

"What is that you've got in your hands?" Kraden asked.

Rief showed him the note and told him about the previous night.

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

Morning, Forest outside of Ayuthay

Amiti was tired for walking and he struggled to keep his eyes open. I hate this man. He is a narcissist and a sadistic mass murderer with a disgusting fetish for power. Even if he is probably my father, he thought.

Amiti looked up at the man walking beside him. Maybe there's hope, he thought wistfully, this man is more than a head taller than me… could my father be someone else?

Alex was a bit taken aback after reading his mind. That was a little harsh and rather mean, calling me all those things, wasn't it? Alex didn't think Amiti had any basis for that view at all.

At the same time he was impressed, and maybe a little proud, that his son had figured out his parentage completely on his own. He was also amused by the ways Amiti justified his denial of what he already knew.

"Well, I suppose it's about time I fulfilled my promise to tell you of your origins."

The face of the boy remained the same mask of disinterest and fatigue, but his misted eyes showed a strained mix of yearning, pain and sorrow. And then resignation.

"Are you my father?"

The boy had no emotion in his voice at all. But rather than giving an air of collectedness, as Alex reckoned he intended, he sounded like a zombie.

This hadn't been how Alex had intended to tell him. He had wanted a lead up that would appeal to his son's emotions. Oh well…

"That I am."

The boy glared at him, but his eyes were less resolute than his expression would suggest.

"You should get some sleep," Alex instructed the boy. "You haven't slept for over a whole day, no?"

Alex read the boy's mind as the latter internally groaned at the thought of sleeping on the forest floor, and then chided himself for being pampered.

"Don't worry; you won't sleep in the undergrowth next time."

He seems determined to make me sleep… I highly doubt his motives. I should not let myself sleep, for that would make me completely vulnerable, Alex heard his son think.

Alex decided he wasn't going to let Amiti's objections get in the way, so he knocked Amiti out with a stroke of his finger, catching his son as he fell, and placing him down softly on the forest floor.

Looking at his son, Alex felt an unexpected emotion, a sort of pride. He had in essence created this being, this son of his. Alex was glad his son in many ways took after himself. He had light blue hair, turquoise eyes, and soft, pale skin, as well as his father's graceful form. Like his father, he was lithe in battle and possessed formidable Mercury Psynergy. Like his father, he was admirably skilled at hiding his thoughts and intentions, though thankfully for Alex, they couldn't be hidden once his mind was read. Alex thought Amiti also had a strong will, but was unsure whether this was good or bad- it was good because his son was like himself, but bad because it could work to obstruct Alex's goals.

At the same time, the ways in which he hasn't inherited my obviously desirable traits are disappointing, Alex mused. These included Amiti's modest height and his apparent attachment to strongly held convictions and values. The latter, Alex observed, is the reason so many humans inflict such ridiculous inconveniences upon themselves, all because of absurd notions like loyalty and other outrageous, useless sentiments.

Alex stopped himself. These are quite enjoyable thoughts, but they only serve to lead me astray. They are tempting distractions from my goal, and I must dispel them, he decided. He didn't want to let himself fall victim to the same outrageous sentiments his son apparently obsessed over.

Alex then proceeded with the task at hand. He commenced probing Amiti's mind as the boy slept, to discover all his likes and dislikes, his views, his nature, and his deep, dark secrets.

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

Late morning, approaching midday, Ayuthay Palace

By the time Rief and Kraden reached the palace, what had originally been curiosity had rotted into a sort of agitated frustration. All around town, people were frantically whispering to each other about something that was probably of utmost importance, and yet no one would tell them what it was. When they tried to ask, they were simply ignored, saw the subject quickly changed, or said it was not fit to discuss with strangers.

"What is your business?," the guard on the right inquired of the pair.

"We wish to see Prince Amiti," Rief replied.

"I'm sorry, you can't do that," said the guard on the left, somberly.

"Why not?," inquired Rief.

"He vanished last night. No one can find him. Many people think he was assassinated, and the court is going hysterical," said the left guard, almost like it was a confession.

His words hit Rief like a wall. It was so sudden.

Had Amiti foreseen this? Was that why he was behaving so bizarrely? Rief contemplated the concept of Amiti being assassinated, and decided that it actually seemed disturbingly reasonable, given the venom Amiti had told him about the nature of the court nobles in the past. Worse still, it seemed like the most logical explanation for why he had suddenly disappeared. Thankfully, no corpse has shown up, as far as we know, thought Rief, and he hoped one never would.

Suddenly, the guard on the right was yelling at the left, very animatedly.

"Shut your mouth! Are you an idiot?! Why are you telling these foreigners about this?!" the right guard cried, stressing the word foreigners in a way that made Rief uneasy.

"Oh, please. Chill out. All you have to do is observe this city's people- they already know, and they're bound to talk. And if you're worried about other countries knowing about this, I am as certain that the nobles will betray us as I am that I have two hands," the left riposted.

"Are you really saying that? That could get you killed, you fool! Have you really no faith in our lords?," the right demanded.

"I am loyal to King Paithos, not the lords who starved my family during the famine!," exclaimed the left. He opened his mouth again as if to continue, but then stopped himself and turned back towards Rief and Kraden.

"I am sorry you had to witness this, and such bad hospitality. We have forgotten ourselves in the midst of all this," the left guard said with embarrassment and more than one accusing glance to his right. "Please follow me," he continued, beckoning them forward.

The guard on the right moved to block the entrance and pointed his spear at the left guard's chin, almost threateningly. "Who gave you the authority to allow these foreigners into our palace, huh Maityo?!," he demanded.

"Prince Chafko did," Maityo replied, pausing for emphasis. "Dhikshe, did you really not recognize Rief, one of the children of the Warriors of Vale who went into Barai Temple for us?"

"What, that Lemurian pup?"

Does he think, Rief wondered, amused rather than insulted, that I'm Lemurian?

Maityo shook his head in disgust, ignored Dhikshe and ushered them inside the palace.

"I must apologize for my partner… I think we are letting all of today's hysteria in the palace mess up our heads," Maityo said apologetically as he led them.

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

Forest outside Ayuthay.

Amiti was awoken to a voice saying, "Rise and shine, Myalkni".

What does 'Myalkni', mean? Is that some sort of term of respect from Imil or something?

"Myalkni," Alex told him," is your name."

"My name is Amiti," Amiti stated. So now he wants to name me?, Amiti thought. If he wanted to name his child, he should of at least stayed around long enough to see me born. He was never there when I was a child, and now I am an adult but he wants to treat me like his son.

"No," Alex corrected him, "It is not the name I want to give you. It is the name Veriti told me she wanted to bestow on her first child."

Oh, my mother… Amiti thought. He felt a deep, familiar emptiness in his chest.

"Is it not the case that in Ayuthay, the names of royal children are not chosen by their parents, but rather by the king's advisors?"

It was true. And Amiti hated that, especially what it symbolized, the advisors- who were nobles- having such control, even over personal matters such as name choice.

"She always hated the name the advisors had given her, and wanted the chance to name her own child…"

Mother…

Amiti had always hated his own name too, both for the endless puns with the word "amity" and because it wasn't the name his parents would have given. He had come up with many names for himself over time, but always forgot or bored of them. He did, in fact, like the sound of the name "Myalkni"…

"So," Alex said, smiling, and asked "what is your name?"

Amiti was torn. This smelled of Alex trying to assert and gain power over him. And yet… there's a chance this is actually the name my mother wanted me to have. After all, she had loved Alex, and there is a possibility they may have discussed names.

Amiti didn't want to bow to Alex by accepting the name. But wait, he thought, if I use that logic… haven't I been bowing to those nobles all these years? Another voice in his head replied that Alex was far worse than the nobles, that they were only extremely corrupt, whereas Alex had killed huge numbers of people for his sick plans.

But is that really true?, the first voice asked. The nobles also starved peasants to death during the famine. Then it continued, and how do you know that Alex is guiltier than the Tuaparang in that? Perhaps he was coerced.

Amiti stopped that string of nonsense. I saw Alex in league with the Tuaparang before my own eyes, and until there is a good explanation, he can't be trusted. Anything contrary to that is just wishful thinking. The truth is that my father is a horrible person, and I just have to come to terms with that.

"Well, what's your name?" Alex said impatiently.

Alex had put Amiti in a tough quandary. He was being forced to both accept, or both reject, Alex and his mother at the same time. On one hand, he could choose to accept the name, as it was truly his if his mother had intended it, but that would mean surrendering more to Alex. On the other, he could reject the name, but in doing so he would also reject his own mother…

"…my name…is…Myalkni," the prince said, slowly. It wasn't long before Myalkni regretted his choice. He had allowed Alex to change his name- the symbol of his identity, the sound referring to his existence. And yet, he was emotionally incapable of rejecting the mother he wished he had known. Now that he no longer had any delusions about his father, he couldn't give up his mother too.

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Ayuthay Palace.

Eventually, they had been led to the back of the Ayuthay Palace, where Prince Chafko's chamber lay. Maityo requested entry, and the door entered with the resonating, confident sound of a trumpet.

Rief could only see a couple similarities between Chafko and Amiti. Chafko looked to be in his late twenties, meaning he was probably five to seven years older than his cousin. Chafko wore the same outfit Amiti had worn when Rief had first met him, with a golden cap, long, embroidered trousers, and a bare chest.

And then, the similarities ended abruptly, and Rief could barely see any family resemblance. Chafko was dark, fairly tall, and had broad shoulders and a muscular chest, in contrast to Amiti's paler complexion, shorter height and slender build. His dark brown hair was shorter than Amiti's and it emanated outward from his golden headdress in a manner almost like the rays of the sun. It looked intentionally done that way. While Amiti gave off a sense of modest culturedness and thoughtfulness, Chafko emanated dignity and confidence. Chafko was actually a little intimidating, despite his welcoming expression. While Amiti looked like a prince and King Paithos looked was looking more and more like a sickly old man, Prince Chafko was the one who actually looked like a king.

"Welcome," said Chafko.

"Where's Paithos?" asked Rief, immediately realizing he probably shouldn't have.

"That's a good question," said Chafko. "For some reason, he seemed to insist that I be the one to handle this."

Chafko is being tested, Rief thought immediately. But before he could continue that contemplation, he was distracted.

Surrounding Chafko were four young maidens. They were beautiful, and also happened to be scantily clad, and before long, Rief couldn't keep his eyes off of them. When they saw that he was looking at them, one of the girls smiled, and Rief completely lost track of what Kraden and Chafko were saying.

After a time, Rief was snapped out of his gaze by hearing his name spoken by Kraden, saying "yes, Rief has gotten to… that age."

He looked up from the girls, to see Chafko smiling with amusement at him. How long had he been staring at them? He was mortified at his behavior in front of royalty, and was quite certain his face was now as red as a tomato.

No doubt seeing Rief's discomfort, Chafko said "Don't worry, my girls are only flattered," he said with a smile that was somehow quite comforting. "However," he continued," we should not have any distractions."

"Girls, you are dismissed," Chafko ordered, and his harem departed.

"It seems like you have quite a difficult situation here," Kraden said to Chafko.

"It is indeed," Chafko agreed. "It seems that the rumors have unleashed certain tensions that were lying beneath the surface here. There are cracks behind the façade of harmony in this country…"

"What are you talking about?" Rief asked.

"It would be unwise for me to discuss this here with you, but I'm sure you have either discovered this on your own or will discover it soon."

Rief thought of the argument that the two palace sentries had had in front of him.

"What I'm trying to say," Chafko concluded, "is that Ayuthay can't wait long for Amiti to return… wherever he went. Paithos told me that he was completely certain Amiti was still alive, but he wouldn't tell me how he knew."

How could he have known? Rief wondered. Something is very weird, very unnatural here… Why would Paithos entrust such an important task to Chafko, just to test him, and then withhold necessary information?

"I thought, if anyone can help, it would be you people… First of all, I want someone from outside Ayuthay because of Ayuthay's… internal issues. And second of all, you and your adepts might actually know Amiti and where he might be better…"

"I'm not sure we can help you," Rief said sadly. "We have utterly no clue what might have happened to him."

"Hold your horses, Rief," said Kraden. "We may actually know something… why else would Alex leave that note?"

Kraden explained about the note, and then Rief told Chafko about what had happened the previous night.

"…Well," said Chafko. "That certainly changes things."

Rief and Kraden nodded in agreement.

"If Alex could break into our rooms and then escape with such ease… it naturally follows that it is quite possible that he could do the same in Amiti's chamber," Kraden observed.

"And," he continued, "he left that note, indicating that he probably wants us to pursue him. That is quite like him."

Kraden knows that man well… I wonder how well my own mother knew him before he betrayed her, Rief pondered.

"It seems that the only logical explanation for Amiti's explanation is that this Alex abducted him, perhaps as a sort of hostage…" Chafko thought aloud. "And, unfortunately, Ayuthay is not capable of paying a ransom, nor would I ever want to. It would be great if you and your adept friends could rescue him, somehow…"

"We do want to save Amiti, but my adept friends are scattered across the continent, unfortunately, and we don't know where Alex is either," Rief said remorsefully, before he realized that he was wrong. "Wait, we may actually know where Alex is…," Rief said, as he took out the note.

"Remember, the northern base of the highest peak in the land of the white doe.," Rief read aloud. "But I have no idea where that might be, though, there are many different countries in Angara with many peaks, and we don't know which is the land of the white doe."

"Oh, yes we do," Kraden said, smiling.

"Pray tell," Chafko urged.

"It is Morgal," Kraden said. "The poetic nickname of the newly crowned Queen Sveta of Morgal is the 'white deer', and since she is a woman, it naturally follows that she could also be the 'white doe'."

"Ohh….." Rief said. How had he not seen that?

Everyone was silent for some time, before Rief spoke.

"It would probably take months at least to reach the northern base of the Talon Peak. It's remote and on the other side of the continent. To get there from here, no matter what route we take, we'd either have to cross through many countries, some of which are hostile to each other, or cross the largest mountain range on the continent…"

"Well, we could send a message by bird," Chafko suggested.

"Yes, that would be a swell idea," Kraden agreed. "We know Sveta pretty well and I'm sure she'll agree to help."

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

Morning, Forest outside of Ayuthay

"Good," Alex said, with a triumphant smile. "Now, what is my name?"

"Alex?"

"Wrong- my name is Arcanus," the man said.

"Isn't Alex the name your parents gave you?"

"Yes, it is," Arcanus said. "Alex was the name that given to me by my simple parents, who didn't care a bit about me and just wanted to make me a perfect automaton to guard Imil's wretched Lighthouse my whole life. I am free of that now, and thus I am Arcanus."

Arcanus then left.

He didn't want to be owned by his parents, and using that name was the symbol of that which he discarded, Myalkni thought. He might as well have confessed that the reason he wants me to call myself this name is because he wants to control me.

But I won't let him, Myalkni decided.

How can I break free of him?, Myalkni asked himself. He decided he wouldn't be able to simply run away. Arcanus wouldn't let him get away, and he didn't want to be alone, worrying about outrunning a pursuer in addition to all the other things he'd have to worry about in the forest… He needed to remove Arcanus somehow from the situation.

And an idea came to his mind. At first Myalkni was surprised by himself. But then he considered it. If he remained in company with Arcanus, he would surely become a tool and an accomplice in Arcanus' vile plots. He had to avoid that at all costs… even if it meant he needed to kill his father.

-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-

next: Chapter 4- Captive of Emotions

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1. The East Mediterranean naming scheme for Ayuthayans continues:

*Maityo comes from Albanian majtë, left.

*Dhikshe comes form Greek dexia, right (the direction). The "dh" is to be pronounced like the "th" in "this".

*Myalkni comes from Albanian mjellmi, swan. I had originally planned for his second name to by Cygnus (Latin for swan) or Cygnu or something, but it didn't seem to fit him. Myalkni did fit him pretty well, I thought. The name uses the Ayuthayan naming scheme because Veriti, an Ayuthayan, was the one who came up with it.

2. In case you were wondering, I use Google Translate to get the translations. I don't actually know all these languages.

3. Remember, I really like feedback :).