Tales of Weyard: Golden Sun

by Chosha Kurenai

A novelisation of the Game 'Golden Sun'. When the Elemental Stars are stolen from Sol Sanctum, Isaac and his friend Garet must leave on a journey to prevent the elemental lighthouses from being lit and unleashing the threat of Alchemy upon the world.

2. Prologue two: The Beginning

Tales of Weyard: Golden Sun

A Game Novelisation

By

Chosha Kurenai

Disclaimer: I, Chosha Kurenai, hereby swear that ownership of Golden Sun belongs to Nintendo and Camalot. Tales of the Golden Sun is fanfiction only and not made as infringement on the rights of the owners. No profit will be made other than writing experience from this game novelisation. All rights are reserved by their true owners.

Prologue Two:

The Beginning

"Isaac, wake up!"

He didn't know what it was that woke him precisely, but the first thing he became aware of from the depths of unconsciousness was the disorientating feeling of wrongness.

"Please dear, wake up!"

He could hear it now, as he rose from the depths of sleep with a groan and began to float into wakefulness. The sound of rain slating hard against the windows, hammering like a waterfall onto rocks situated below it. The clatter of shutters as the wind tugged hard at them, bouncing them against the window frames and wrenching them against their hinges as it howled and bellowed like a wounded animal and suddenly a flash of light could be seen through his closed eyelids as somewhere overhead the sound of thunder boomed deafeningly. Isaac moaned softly, trying to burry himself further under his blankets. Obviously there was some kind of storm outside. Nothing new about a storm. The villae of Vale had experienced storms before – everyone usually just went inside their homes where it was safe and dry to wait it out. But that didn't explain the worry that was coming from the voice, whom Isaac now realised in fact belonged to his mother.

"The Mt Aleph Boulder is going to fall!"

….Well that explained it.

"What?" Gasping, Isaac's eyes snapped open in surprise as he sat up, just as another crash of lightning came from above, illuminating the room starkly for a moment revealing his mother's face, pinched with worry, her blonde hair in disarray, strands of gold falling from her normally pristine bun as if put together in a hurry straight from bed, which was highly possible, although with the darkness of the storm clouding the sky, it was impossible to judge.

"The storm dislodged a giant boulder from the top of Mt Aleph," She explained worriedly as she dragged the sheets from him. "The elders are trying to stop it from falling, but we don't know how long their Psynergy'll last. Oh, come on Isaac," she moaned, concern heavy in her voice as she pulled at Isaac's arm to get him to move faster. Isaac fought off the last of his sheets, trying to pull himself out of bed without ending up a heap on the floor. "We have to go now!"

Somehow managing to untangle himself from the blankets and his mother's worried hands, he managed to stumble out of bed and head towards the door, hopping as he kicked off the blanket still tangled around his foot, snatching up his dagger from the bedside table just in case, something of his mother's panicked tone beginning to catch onto him too, barely having time to react as he felt a strange tingle running through the air that told him his mother was using Psynergy and he turned just in time to catch a face full of cloak as his mother pulled it from the hook on the wall with her power helping to fasten it on him. Normally he would have complained. He was almost fourteen years old – definitely old enough to dress himself. But with the urgentness of the situation, he held his tongue.

"Have you got everything you need?" she asked hurriedly as Isaac tied his knife to his belt.

Isaac's mind suddenly flashed to various items that littered his room, favourite clothing, items…..however when he considered that spending too much time trying to collect up everything might mean a giant rock crushing them into mincemeat, it made him think that maybe they weren't really that vital after all.

"Everything that's important anyway," Isaac promised, shooting nervous glances towards the window as another crash of lightning almost cut off his words.

"Good for you, Isaac," his mother said with a nod as she grabbed his arm, pulling him along to the stairs. "A lost item can be replaced," she looked over at him with a meaningful look out of the corner of her eye. "A lost life can't." and with that she disappeared down the stairs. Shivering slightly at that ominous thought in mind, Isaac cast one last look at his room before darting after her.

He'd barely taken two steps after he'd made it down the stairs having skipped most of them in his hurry not to get left behind when the door crashed open, bouncing off the wall with the force of it, the sound seemingly amplified by the thunder booming overhead, flashing up a silhouette that made Isaac jump and his mother gasp in alarm, grabbing his arm almost painfully enough to make him wince, only to find as the lightning faded that the figure was very familiar indeed. Soaked to the bone, his brown hair that was usually as unruly as Isaacs own plastered to his head and dripping rain water, his clothing rumpled, wet and splashed with mud, the man stumbled into the room, looking around wildly before his eyes met Isaac's. He felt his mother's painful grip on him lessen and he sighed in relief.

"Dad!"

"Isaac, Dora, hurry!" His father said hurriedly, his tone just as urgent as his mother's had been and Isaac felt his own concern bubbling up inside him. His father was always so calm and collected. To hear the barely suppressed fear in his voice was frightening. "The Boulder could fall at any second!" With that he hurried back outside, practically becoming lost in the sheet of grey formed by the rain.

Isaac grimaced. He didn't need telling twice. Being brushed by goodness knew how many tons of rock wasn't high on his priority list. The feeling of urgency was only increased as a giant gust of wind swept through the door, snuffing out the candle on the table so quickly it was startling. Like a premonition. Isaac shivered, Dora's eyes met his own and he could see the alarm and foreboding reflected in blue orbs, eyes that reflected his own, most likely. Swallowing, he nodded to her in understanding of their precarious situation, which Dora returned before following her husband outside, Isaac close at her heels.

The wind and rain was biting, strong enough to feel like physical blows against his skin and he gasped out as he felt the icy cold water already soaking through his clothes, making them cling to his slim frame, chilling him. Teeth chattering and shivers raking his form, he drew his cloak closer to himself, hoping to keep himself warm futilely. Once more lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating it in forked electric-blue light as thunder crashed so loudly it stung his ears. This was not just a storm. Sure, Vale had experienced storms before, but never to this magnitude, never to threaten the stability of Mt Aleph. The very air seemed to be ringing with energy, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up from the charged atmosphere.

"Kyle…" Dora managed over the rain, barely audible over the sound of the rain, looking over to her husband imploringly, "Will they be able to stop the boulder?" she asked hopefully. However, Kyle looked away and Isaac didn't need the shake of his father's head to know that it was an unlikely thing to happen infinitely. Neither fire nor Earth Psynergy could last forever.

"I don't think so…." Kyle said grimly, conferming Isaac's suspisions. "Not for long anyway." He looked around, eying his wife and son determinedly. "You two go on ahead and take refuge in the plaza."

Isaac suddenly found his mouth become dry in relisation and it seemed that Dora had formed the same conclusions. "W-wait! What about you? Aren't you coming with us?" she asked, face falling.

Kyle shook his head, face set. "I need to help evacuate the other villagers."

In emergency situations, Adepts would be called to help the other villagers and Kyle was an earth adept. Normally Isaac would feel a stab of envy every time Kyle was called upon to do something with his Psynergy. Isaac knew that he was capable of using psynergy himself. He was able to feel and see adepts using Psynergy, a sure sign that he had the ability to channel it, and he'd borrowed his mother's catch beads often enough when she didn't know so he and his friends could pick fruit from the trees in the village from the higher branches where they were the most juicy but he had not been allowed to formally train his psynergy yet. Apparently it was unsafe to train in it at too young an age, and Kyle insisted he waited until he was 15 before he started. However, with the current situation he was more concerned for his father's wellbeing than some petty envy at being unable to use enough psynergy to be useful.

Dora, meanwhile, looked alarmed at the thought of being left behind. "Let me help you Kyle!" she said immediately.

"Its too dangerous Dora," Kyle shot back immediately. "Please, Take good care of Isaac."

Isaac felt a stab of irritation at that. He was almost fourteen years old, not Four. "I can take care of myself," he bit out. "I'm thirteen after all."

Dora shot him a look between a mix at reproachful for his tone and grateful for his input. "See, Isaac's old enough to take care of himself," she agreed, before glancing at Isaac, "You can find your way, can't you, Isaac?"

"Sure I can," Isaac nodded. He'd been there plenty of times before to pick up herbs or spices for his mother at the local stores, or with his friends and he'd gone there plenty of times on his own. "It's not that far anyway. I'll be fine."

Another burst of lighting punctuated his words

I hope...

Noticing the slightly wary look that he must have been supporting, Dora gave him an assuring smile that looked a little strained on her face and nodded. "Right. You hurry on ahead and we'll meet you at the Plaza soon." With that she swept him up into a bone crushing hug, knocking the wind out of him. "Be careful!" she added before she finally ran off after Kyle, leaving Isaac alone in front of the house. Suddenly the storm seemed a lot more creepy now that he was alone.

Shivering slightly, he shook his disturbing thoughts from his head and set off.

Getting to the plaza was a relatively simple. It was a small mater of descending the stairs and ledges of the village to get south, before heading off to the east for the most direct rout to the plaza. However, this task was only simple on a regular day and it seemed Isaac's luck was not with him. Just as Isaac was part way down the stone stairs there was a loud crash of lightning that hit a ledge just above the pathway, causing a tremor that shook the ground, unbalancing Isaac as he stumbled backwards on the stairs again, just as rocks from where the lightning had struck began to slide down the side of the mountain, crashing at the bottom of the stairs as Isaac covered his head with his arms with a cry of surprise. Finally, the rumbling stopped and carefully he removed his hands from his head to stair dumbfounded at the rubble at the bottom of the stairs, a boulder about the side as he was having landed on top of it, completely blocking the path.

"Sol dammit…." Swearing faintly, Isaac scrambled to his feet, stumbling down the stairs, pressing his hands against the rock and shoving it in an attempt to move it. But no matter how hard he tried his hands slipped on the wet stone, and no mater how much he shoved at it with his body or dug his feet into the ground, no matter how much he strained until he was blue in the face or rammed it with his shoulder the only thing he managed to accomplish was to splatter mud up his pant legs, make his hands sore from the cold and stone, knock all the breath out of him and bruise his shoulder.

Scowling at the stubborn rock as he rubbed his bruised limb, blond hair dripping into his eyes, he chewed on his lip as he considered what he could do next. Obviously he couldn't get around the rocks, it was too dangerous to try to jump down from the ledge or climb over, so this rout was out. The only alternative was going north past the Mayor's house, crossing the bridge over the river and heading south on that side until he reached the next bridge and get to the Plaza that way. It wasn't very direct, but he would take that over waiting for certain doom by getting crushed by Mt Aleph's boulder or getting hurt trying to get over the rocks.

That in mind, Isaac began to run blindly northwards, blinking rainwater rapidly out of his eyes, the pounding rain veiling the world in a sheet of grey and he could barely see a few feet in front of his face. It was only by pure instinct he knew where he was going, stumbling on the muddy ground. He knew the bridge was just above the Mayor's house and he was sure that he had just passed that so-

"Ugh……Hrnghhh….."

Isaac stumbled to a halt, blinking rain water rapidly out of his eyes as he shoved his bangs away from his face, panting lightly, confused. Was someone out there? They sounded like they were struggling from the sound of straining that seemed to be coming from close by. Squinting he peered out through the rain, noticing a blur of red and brown could be seen.

"Is that…Garet?" Isaac murmured to himself, surprised. What on Weyard was he still doing here? He was the grandson of the mayor, surely he should have been at the Plaza by now with the rest of his siblings and his grandparents.

Wondering if maybe he was mistaken, Isaac moved closer to find that indeed it was his redheaded friend. His normally gravity defying hair was weighed down by rainwater, his brown shaded clothing and cloak splattered by mud, clinging to his stocky body and he seemed to be struggling to drag something attacked to a rope that was stuck in a ditch. Moving closer he noticed that it was a large box stuffed full with what looked like Garet's belongingness – Isaac recognised some of them from the many times he had been over to Garet's house in the past. It would seem that the box, unsuited to be dragged across muddy and rock strewn ground had gotten stuck to the point that Garet could not get it out. Not for lack of trying though as his friend pulled yet again, his face turning red as his hair from the effort.

Was he suicidal or something?

"What are you doing!" Isaac hollered over the wind and rain. "The boulder's going to fall any minute!"

Garet looked over at him momentarily squinting through the rain as he tried to work out who was with him. "Isaac?" he asked, distractedly, but his attention was still focused on his items. And soon he was pulling at the rope again futily. "I'm trying to save my things!" he groaned as he pulled yet again.

"If you don't run you're going to get crushed," Isaac retorted. How would he explain that to Garet's family if he did get crushed trying to save his things? "Just forget about your things!"

"What, you want me to just drop my stuff?" Garet asked, sounding almost horrified at the thought. "I can't do that, they're important!"

Sure his friend could be stupid, but not that stupid, right? "Yes I want you to just drop it!" Isaac yelled back, exasperated. "Don't be an idiot, you can get more stuff!"

"But my…."

"No," Isaac insisted, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him away. "I'm not explaining to your family that you got killed trying to save your things. We don't have time!"

"I guess you're right…." Garet said reluctantly as he finally started moving, although he kept looking back across at his things mournfully. "Still, my stuff…."

"I'm sure they'll forgive you. Now move," Isaac insisted.

Much to Isaac's relief, he no longer had to try and drag Garet any more – he was no light weight anyway – as he nodded. "You know, you're right. Let's get out of here!" He added. Unfortunately he began to head off back in the direction Isaac had come and he mentally swore to himself. He'd forgotten to mention about the landslide to his friend and he quickly reached out to stop him again, dragging him off towards the bridge. "Now what are you doing?" Garet cried as Isaac began to drag him away. He waved a hand in the direction of the blocked stairs. "The plaza's that way!"

"That way's blocked," Isaac explained as he pulled him towards the bridge. "Landslides. We have to go the other way."

Garet blenched at the thought of landslides. As if they didn't have enough to worry about what with the storm and Mt Aleph's boulder threatening to fall – but at least he stopped struggling against him and began to run towards the bridge, to which Isaac was thankful. He just hoped that the lightning hadn't caused more landslides and taken out the bridge also, otherwise there was nothing they would be able to do but be at the mercy of Mt Aleph's boulder.

A shiver ran through him at the thought.

Thankfully, Isaac's fears were unfounded. Apart from the wood being somewhat slippery from the rain, the boards were still holding and the ropes remained strong. Clinging to the ropes, not taking any chances, Isaac and Garet managed to cross relatively quickly despite the rain, though they both breathed a sigh of relief when their feet hit stable land.

However, their relief was short lived when a cry came from somewhere above.

"Ahhh! The Boulder! It's falling!"

Isaac thought his heart had jumped to his throat when he heard the cry and he felt Garet grip his arm almost painfully, trying to get his attention, mouthing silently, shock stealing his voice, he pointed upwards in the direction of the mountain path. Following Garet's flapping arm he looked up in time to see the glowing he associated with Psynergy as-

He thought his heart stopped a moment.

A boulder four times the size of the largest person in Vale was crashind down the pathway, only to be stopped by a group of Elders attempting to push it back, all of them looking tiny in comparison to the large mass of rock boring down upon them. He couldn't hear if they were talking or see exactly what they were saying other than the bluring of the psynergy through the rain until one of the group noticed them yelled down to them.

"Hurry Boys! Run!!! It's just a little farther!"

Isaac finally broke from his stupor.

"Come on!" Isaac said, feeling like he had to squease his words passed his pounding heart lodged in his throat. Garet didn't need telling twice and was soon at his heals as they ran once more.

However, it seemed that fate really wasn't making things easy for them.

A low Rumble stopped them in their tracks and the boys swallowed, looking at each other nervously. Garet looked rather pale under his mop of red hair.

"P-please tell me that isn't what I think it is…." Garet whimpered.

Suddenly the rumbling became louder and Isaac whipped around with a gasp. The fall of the Mt Aleph Boulder had dislodged more rocks, creating a landslide of smaller boulders bouncing down the mountainside, causing Garet and Isaac to stumble backwards as the boulder crashed down once more effectively blocking off their retreat once again.

Garet swore colourfully and despite the haze of worry and panic that plagued him, or maybe because of it, Isaac couldn't help but wonder where Garet had picked up such language. Definitely not from his parents at any rate. Garet's mother would always scold him if she caught her son swearing.

Quickly he pushed the thought from his mind – maybe panic was making him think strangely? – as he stepped forwards once more to try and help Garet move the rocks, but once again, even with Garet's additional strength, they couldn't move it. It was stuck fast.

"Blast!" Garet swore. "We can't get around this rock!" he pated as he looked around wildly back in the direction of Mt Aleph when there boulder looked over them, illuminated by the Psynergy like some sickly blue sun, with only a few villagers between it and them. Garet shuddered, swallowing thickly. "We'll have to find another way, but where?"

"We should be able to get around if we go past our usual meeting spot," Isaac said as he scanned the area, trying to keep a level head despite it all, although it was harder that it might have looked. He felt sick to the stomach at the mere thought of what could be crashing down at them at any time. "But if that way is blocked….." he trailed off.

"Sol help us," Garet said, looking positively green at the thought of Isaac's unfinished sentence. "Thanks for that…." He squeaked. "Now I've got something else to worry about…."

"Just come on," Isaac groaned, grabbing Garet's sleeve and tugged him along with him, not really wanting to consider what would happen if they did end up trapped. The thought wasn't a pleasant one.

It was strange how a storm and the threat of being crushed by a thousand tons of rock could change ones perspectives of an area. Isaac had been to this area tons of times with his friends – the best apple trees grew in the area and it was great to explore. As children he would play various hide and seek games there too. It was on the western limits of the village and sometimes you could see various animals or birds between the trees if you looked hard enough. But in the storm with rain limiting their view and the constant fear tingling the back of their minds, the area felt darker and out of the corner of his eye he was sure he could see eyes gleaming through the trees, or hear menacing growling.

He seriously hoped it was his imagination….

A sudden loud moan reached Isaac's ears and he stopped short, looking around, feeling like a cold ice cube had slipped into his stomach, all the small hairs on his body standing on end at the wail.

It definitely hadn't sounded like an animal and it certainly hadn't been his imagination he was sure.

"W….what's that….?"

Garet stopped too. "What's….what?" Garet asked, before blenching. "It's not another landslide, is it?"

Isaac shook his head. "I don't think so. It sounded more like a-" However he was cut off as the loud moaning came again over the rain and made the both of them freeze.

"A Ghost?" Garet said, panicked.

"Don't be stupid, there aren't Ghosts in Vale," Isaac scoffed, trying to sound braver than he felt. However, no sooner had he said this, the low moan came again and the boys stiffened. Isaac was sure that Garet's hair was standing on end despite the weight of the water weighing it down. But when it came again, Isaac realised that it wasn't a monster sound at all, but the sound of a human.

"I think someone's over there," Isaac said in realisation, before darting in the direction of the sound.

"Hey, wait up!" Garet yelled, stumbling to keep up with his shorter, quicker friend.

Finally, Isaac got close enough to see what the cause of the noise had been through the rain. A boulder had fallen during one of the landslides, smashing into the fence and next to it lay a man who looked rather dazed, groaning. Concerned that the rock had hit the man on the way down and caused him an injury, Isaac hurried over. He had a few herbs stored in his pouch, so he might have been able to patch the man up somewhat if he had been harmed.

"Hey, Mister, are you alright?" Isaac asked hurriedly as he knelt beside him, pulling some herbs out ready.

"What happened?" Garet asked, crouching down next to him, following Isaac's example to look for injuries.

"Rockslide….Distroyed fence…." The Man moaned, eyes fluttering open as he realised help was there. "Monsters everywhere….."

"M….m-monsters?" Garet stammered worriedly.

"There are Monsters here in Vale?" Isaac blurted out, quickly looking around in surprise at the forest area where this time he was sure he saw some eyes disappear into the foliage. It was almost unheard of. Monsters never went anywhere near large settlements of human life. They preferred to stay in the wilderness, usually only attacking hapless or unwary travellers that disturbed them. They never entered a village, even the outskirts. Had the storm really messed up the order of things that much?

However, the man ignored him.

"I'm hurt pretty badly….do you think I'll die?"

"Die?" Isaac asked worriedly, turning attention back to the man looking for injuries again but no matter how hard he looked he could find nothing but a few small scratches and bruises, but nothing life threatening. In fact apart from him maybe feeling a bit sore, he looked perfectly well. "No," he said bluntly, sharing an incredulous glance with Garet. He seriously hoped that the man hadn't been making up stuff about the monsters as he had with the extent of his injuries because he would definitely not be pleased. And from the look he shared with Garet, neither would he.

The man, however, draped a hand over his eyes almost overdramatically. "This is awful. I'm left here for monsters to….." Suddenly, he paused, blinking at the arm he had just draped over his forehead as he had moved it without a problem and waved it in almost a comical manner if the seriousness of the situation wasn't bearing on them. "Wait….that's strange…." He said, scrambling to his feet and checking himself over. "Why, I'm not hurt at all!"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," Garet rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright," the man grumbled, flushing a little at the half irritated, half amused glances he was getting from the boys, before ignoring Garet in favour of Isaac, obviously feeling he would less likely be snapped at by him. "But I'm serious about the monsters, so be careful on your way to the plaza!" he added, before running off, obviously intent on taking himself to safety.

"H-hey wait!" Isaac yelled. But he'd already gone.

"Well that's nice," Garret huffed, hands on his hips. "After we went through the trouble to help him too, jeez!" He trailed off, giving Isaac a nervous glance. "Uh, do you think that he was exaggerating like he was with his injuries?" Garet asked with a weak laugh, as if trying to convince himself more than being doubtful of the warning.

"I don't know," Isaac admitted. "He seemed pretty serious….."

"Great, now I'm even more worried," Garet Groaned. "Jee, thanks for that Isaac…." He grumbled.

"Oh can it," Isaac rolled his eyes. "Anyway, you have your machete right?" he added, indicating the sheathed weapon on his belt, before pointing to his own. "We'll be fine. Let's just hurry up to the plaza. Keep your eyes open for any monsters too, just in case."

As it was, it seemed the man had not been exaggerating. Thankfully, the only monsters that attacked were small ones: Vermin would sometimes jump out, brandishing tiny pitchforks, Bats would swoop down from trees and startle them, but were generally easy to beat before much damage was done and a couple of Wild Mushrooms managed to startle them when they jumped out of the undergrowth since when they kept still they looked like normal toadstools in the rain. However, there wasn't too much trouble, since they were prepared and soon, grazed and bruised from monster battles hey seemed to be on the last leg of the journey to the Plaza. Isaac had never been so pleased to se the giant stone staircase that used to irritate him so much when he went to visit his friend Jenna as he was right then. All they would need to do was make it down the stairs, head over to cross one last bridge and they would practically be home free to the safe haven of the Plaza.

"Thank Sol that's nearly over!" Garet said, relieved, as they jogged down the stairs, swiping wet bangs from his eyes. However, his relief was short lived when a sudden scream pierced the air.

"Oh no! My Brother!"

"I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I?" Garet groaned.

"That sounded like Jenna!" Isaac gasped in realisation, worry consuming him.

"Her brother? Felix?" Garet immediately worked out, face contorting in concern. "What could have happened?"

Indeed Felix was Jenna's older brother by a year or two and very protective of his little sister. Isaac remembered one time Felix had actually lashed out at another boy who had been picking on Jenna years ago, which was strange considering his normally calm, kind and gentle personality. He, being older that Isaac and Garet had already begun to learn Psynergy. From what he had shown to his excited sibling, Isaac and Garet, it seemed he was a venus adept. Isaac looked up to him too. He supposed that it was because they were both quiet usually, or because Felix was a venus adept, which considering Isaac's parent's it probably meant that Isaac himself would become a venus adept, but Isaac had always got along well with Felix. Worry gnawed at him. What had happened? It had to have been something bad because Jenna would never have sounded so horrified otherwise.

"Let's go! He might need help!" Isaac said as they hurried over in the direction of the scream. However, they hadn't run far when they practically barrelled into Dora, who had just been running the other way.

"Mom?!" Isaac gasped out.

"Isaac! Garet?" Dora blinked in surprise before she frowned at them. "What are you two still doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Plaza by now?"

"Long story," Isaac said quickly. "Anyway, what happened? We heard Jenna yell. What happened to Felix?"

"Yeah, she sounded worried," Garet insisted. "We even heard her over this storm!"

Dora bit her lip, as if considering her options. Finally she seemed to come to a decision. "Felix fell into the river," She said quickly. "I'm looking for someone to help him so he doesn't drown."

Quickly, Isaac glanced towards the river. Obviously what had happened was further downstream, but even from their vantage point, Isaac could see the river had swollen, the waters turbulent. His worry spiked. If it were anyone else they would have drowned already. Felix was fairly strong for his age, but still, if he didn't get some help soon, he wouldn't keep from drowning for long. He must have been holding onto something, but obviously too far away from the shore for anyone to pull him out by hand.

"Is there anything we can do?" Isaac asked.

Dora seemed happy that Isaac had offered, so she nodded. "Jenna's gone to the Plaza to get help. Go and join her. She might need some help."

"Got it," Isaac nodded

"Be careful," Dora insisted before darting off in the direction of the stairs that Isaac and Garet had only just descended.

"Why's she gone back north?" Garet asked incredulously. "There's no one up there now!"

"No one but people with Psynergy trying to stop the boulder," Isaac amended. "I bet she's going to try and find someone who can use Psynergy to pull him out of the river."

"Can't your mom use Psynergy?" Garet asked.

"Well, a bit," Isaac admitted, "But not that much. Besides, Mom and dad went ahead to help the villagers, she's probably drained by now. But anyway, let's catch up to Jenna. Maybe we can find a psynergy user near the Psynergy stone in the Plaza.

"Yeah, let's go," Garet agreed and quickly began to run towards the bridge that would take them to the plaza. As they ran, Isaac caught sight of Jenna's parents and Isaac's own father trying to reach out towards Felix from a platform and obviously trying to encourage him, while Felix himself was just beyond reach, clinging to a wooden post sticking out of the water, arms wrapped around it as he gasped for breath, water occasionally splashing over his head.

"Don't worry Felix!" Garet yelled over the wind, "We're going to get help. Hang on!"

Unfortunately Felix made no show of actually acknowledging the shout. Isaac had a sneaking suspision he couldn't hear Garet over the rain and rushing water. Either that or he was too focused on keeping his head from submerging. However, he didn't stop to ponder this. Felix was counting on them. Plus he'd never forgive either of them if something happened to his sister. That in mind they crossed the bridge at a run, boulting towards the Plaza at top speed.

Isaac had never seen so many people at the plaza before. Almost everyone was there who couldn't use Psynergy, couldn't use enough to help or were drained from using their Psynergy from helping the other villagers. He could see children huddled together in groups, some with parents, others looking worried, shooting terrified glances back in the direction of Mt Aleph. Isaac could guess what they were thinking, especially if their parents were some of those trying to help stop the boulder. He could see some people trying to comfort others who were close to hysterics and others he could see being treated with herbs for injuries from the landslides. However, so far he couldn't see any sign of Jenna, or any psynergy users. Isaac just hoped that Jenna had the same idea as he did to check at the Psynergy stone.

"Hey look!" Garet suddenly said, pointing in the direction of the stone. "There's Jenna, with Grampa!"

Isaac squinted through the rain to see where he was pointing. Indeed once he got used to looking through the rain he could see the blurred form of Jenna standing besides the wild, white haired form of Garet's grandfather, the Mayor of Vale. As they approached, he could hear the Mayor barking orders to two men before him, obviously Psynergy users from the way the conversation was going.

"Go aid the elders!" the Mayor was saying as they got close. "The boulder is too heavy for them to hold much longer!"

Both men nodded determinedly, grim faced before running passed the boys, heading back in the direction of Mt Aleph. Isaac had to wonder if they actually felt scared. After all, if it did fall….

Isaac shuddered to think about it. Keep your mind on the task at hand, Isaac reminded himself. You're here to get help for Felix, remember?

"Grandpa! Jenna!" Garet called, hurrying over and Isaac quickly followed.

Jenna stiffened in surprise, brown eyes widening when they fell on the approaching boys. She looked pale and drawn with worry and there were reminents of nail marks on her cheeks where she had gripped them in worry. Even now her hands were flexing with concern, as if desperate to grab a rope herself and fling it over to Felix, or even to dive into the river herself to save him (although at the latter thought Isaac was suddenly glad she was restraining herself) "Garet, Isaac….." she breathed. "You came to help me?"

"Of course we did," Isaac said with a comforting smile. "Your both our friends."

The Mayor obviously realising they were there, turned to them. "Jenna told me about Felix. Is that why you're here?"

"Yes, sir."

The Mayor gave them both a wide smile. "Good boys! Jenna could use a hand."

"Great! I'm all charged up!"

Isaac almost jumped a mile at the additional voice, looking around through the rain as he realised that they weren't the only ones that were in the area. Blanketed by the grey curtain of rain, Isaac hadn't noticed the man standing by the Psynergy stone with his hands pressed against it recharging psynergy until he had spoken and now hopped over back over the small pool to the Mayor's side.

The Mayor clapped a hand on the man's shoulder. "How are you? Have you recovered your Psynergy?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

The Man nodded. "Enough to save Felix, thanks to the Psynergy stone."

Obviously the man had been picked to help save felix before Isaac and Garet arrived. Jenna looked almost ready to faint with relief, but was holding together and the Mayor cracked a relived smile before turning back to the boys and Jenna.

"Ok Jenna, you heard him. Now hurry back!" at Jenna's nod, the Mayor turned back to the boys. "The path may be blocked by fallen rocks," Garet and Isaac shared a look at that, remembering the few close calls they had had on the way to the plaza. "You two can show them the way!" The Mayor added.

Isaac nodded, silently hoping no more rocks had fallen and blocked off the way they had come before, for Felix's sake. Shaking off the ominous thoughts, he quickly nodded and, followed by Garet, Jenna and the man, began to run back to Jenna's home, where Felix was waiting.

Thankfully there were no monsters nor had any more boulders fallen leaving them with a clear path and Isaac was beginning to feel rather optimistic that they could save Felix without a hitch as they reached the bridge that overlooked Jenna's home.

"Mom! Dad!" Jenna called over the rain. "We're back!"

Rather than Jenna's parent's answering, however, a different, yet familiar voice replied. "Is that you Jenna?"

"Mom!" Isaac called in realisation.

"Yes Ma'am!" Jenna called as Dora herself came into view, looking pale and pinched with stress and worry.

She shook her head, wringing her hands. "I couldn't find anyone who could help…" Isaac wasn't surprised. After all, anyone heading north would be too busy worrying about keeping everyone in the village safe from the boulder rather than saving one lone boy. If they did that, hundreds of people would be hurt, or worse. "How did you do?" she asked hopefully.

The Man stepped forwards. "I'm here to help out, Dora," the man called down to her and Isaac saw her slump in relief.

"You're just on time," she said gratefully.

Jenna seemed to brighten ever so slightly. "So my brother is still…"

Dora glanced over at the river, before she nodded. "Felix is alright. He's hanging in there." Jenna sighed, relieved and Isaac was just glad that they had managed to get help in time and that Felix hadn't drowned while they were trying to find someone. "Come down here so we can save Felix!"

They didn't need telling twice. The man boulted down the stairs first to join Dora, while Jenna, Garet and Isaac followed behind, trying to keep up to their longer pace. Soon they would have Felix out and safe, and once they were out of danger and the storm had passed, they would be able to joke about it.

However, it seemed that Murphy's law decided things had been going well for too long.

Boom!

Everyone froze.

"W-what was that….?" Jenna asked nervously.

A Rumble sounded again that seemed to echo all around the valley, making it difficult to pinpoint. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out what it was. Suddenly a scream from Jenna caught everyone's attention, and they whipped around to see the great Mt Aleph boulder crashing down the mountainside, it's size shadowing the valley and…It was heading right their way!

Garet swore colourfully, but for once, Dora didn't scold him.

"Run!" she cried.

And Run they did, trying to find some place that would protect them from the boulder. Everyone, that was, but Jenna.

"Mom! Dad! Felix!" she screamed, trying to hurry to her parents, her brother still clinging for life – directly in the path of the boulder. For the first time horror gripped Isaac as he recalled that, with Jenna's parent's was his own father.

"Dad! Get out of there!" he yelled.

"Isaac, Jenna! Get down!" Garet cried, grabbing the back of their shirts and tugging them to the ground as the boulder crashed down and suddenly, everything was confusion, screams, smashing wood, Impact of something hard into water, a tidal wave of muddy water crashing over them, throwing them back into the ledge, dazing them and suddenly…..silence, water gone, screams quietened.

Slowly, Isaac opened his eyes, untangling himself from Garet and Jenna, quickly looking around wildly. "Dad!"

However, what he saw made his chest constrict, his mind stuttering to a hault. Part of Jenna's house was crushed, the platform broken and splintered, parts of the wood floating in the water that was still rocking turbulently, still recovering from the shockwaves caused by the boulder's fall.

There was no one around the platform or in the water.

Felix, Jenna's parent's….his father….gone.

Somewhere behind him a sob filtered through the haze of his shocked consciousness.

"No….It can't be…..Kyle….It must be a dream….."

"Mom, Dad…..Felix….Don't leave me all alone…."

Mom…Jenna…That was right, Jenna's parents and brother were missing, Dora's husband along with them. Dad…no…He can't be…He can't be dead…

Thinking of Kyle being dead was almost absurd. He was always strong and dependable. Always….there…

He can't be dead…he…we just can't see him right now….any second he'll appear…he has to…

Despite his stunned state, he felt someone shake his shoulder, trying to drag him from his stupor.

"Isaac…the boulder…we need to get help or everyone will drown…" Garet, he managed to register. Why did he sound so far away?

Drown... Felix…Dad… somehow that was all his brain could register, like a wheel just going around and round in his head, unable to focus properly.

"Oh, Ohhhhh…." Isaac fuzzily heard a groan coming from close by. "I…I'll go…" However a few moments later he heard a sound of pain and something collapsing to the ground penetrated the haze of his mind. "It's no use….I can't move…Isaac, Please get help!"

The shaking happened again and the destruction left by the boulder's fall left his view as a pare of concerned brown eyes filled his vision. "Isaac!" Garet called again, shaking him sharply. "We need to get help! Isaac!"

Help...Need to get help…The thought finally crossed his mind, the words penetrating the haze of shock. For…For Dad and…

Finally he was able to think again, thoughs coming out in a rush as if a dam that had blocked them before had been smashed open. Not even saying a word to his friend, Isaac choked back his own sob that wanted to come forth and broke into a run to get back to the plaza. If anyone could help, the people there could. There were the only ones likely to have any Psynergy left to move the boulder and….and help Felix, Jenna's parents and…and his father, they had to.

He barely noticed Garet's cry of 'wait up!' looking concerned for him, nor Garen't voice over the storm murmer, "Isaac….I can't let him go alone….It's times like these we men have got to stick together!" All Isaac knew was that he needed to get to the plaza, to find help, to save his father and the villagers. He had to.

Finally Mud, exhaustion and sorrow overcame him and he tripped over some rocks, crashing painfully to the floor as Mud splattered over him, gasping for breath so hard his chest hurt as he tried to get on his hands and knees again, but the shock of physical pain actually caused his mind break from the spin it had been in, beginning to come to terms with what had just happened. Curling in on himself a howl wanted to break its way out of his mouth in utter misery, but it was cut off, choked back, his hands covering his face as tears felt hot down his cheeks sobs breaking through his lips. Kyle. Dependable strong Kyle. His father. Gone. Jenna's parents and Felix, gone, just like that.

How could this have happened!

"Why?" Isaac choked out, pressing his arms to his face. "Why!?"

However, a movement of feet against stone and an unfamiliar voice caused his sobbing to cut off, choked back despite the tears still streaming down his mud dirtied cheeks, especially when what they were saying reached his ears.

"Only the two of us survived," a deep, masculine voice met his ears.

"How could we have anticipated Sol Sanctum would unleash such fury?" A female voice added.

Her words caused his harsh breathing to cut off as he drew it back. Sol Sanctum? Unleashed Fury? Sol Sanctum caused the storm? But how did this woman know such a thing? People were forbidden to go to the Sanctum unless there was a good reason and Isaac had never heard their voices before. Plus, why would they have been there during a storm, especially with the danger of the boulder. There was too many questions here, but before he could do or say anything, the two people continued.

"It's a miracle even the two of us survived…"

"That switch…it must have been a trap…."

"But to think it would conjure up a storm this powerful!"

Switch? In Sol Sanctum? Isaac bit back a gasp. So this storm…the boulder…it had been because they had tripped some kind of switch in Sol Sanctum? Jenna's parents, Felix, his father….it had been all their fault?!

Still they continued and despite the rage that almost choked him, he held his tongue, listening more intently.

"Another demonstration of the awesome powers of Alchemy." The Woman added, sounding reluctantly awed. Alchemy?

"Regardless," the Man continued, "We must not fail the next time we challenge Sol Sanctum."

Next time? They were going to be going there again? But what if they caused another storm like this one? What if the same thing happened again and someone else died?

That did it. He would have to tell the mayor. If these people were truly responsible for what happened today, and the Sol Sanctum had unleashed the storm because they tripped the switch, then they would need to know.

That in mind, Isaac crept away as the woman was replying to the man. "Next time, we shall certainly…."

"Isaac! Wait!" Isaac almost jumped a mile as his name was yelled and whipped around to find Garet running closer. Frantically, Isaac tried to indicate for him to be quiet, to slow down, to stop drawing attention, but Garet just looked completely confused. "Isaac, what-?" However he cut himself off, looking up with a half opened mouth. Wincing, Isaac followed his gaze and he thought he had swallowed his tongue, his anger at the strangers turning to fear as he noticed the speakers staring down at them with accusing eyes and Isaac thought that he lost his voice.

Indeed if he had ever doubted that the strangers weren't from Vale before, he would definitely not have doubted it now. In fact, he had never seen people like them before in his life. The Woman was blonde and wore a long dress, sleeveless, but poking from her hair was long pointed ears and her eyes were blood red, harsh and reptilian, her skin over her arms neck and cheeks weren't smooth skin, but a scaly red colouring, like a snakes. He Man was no different, his pointed ears sticking out from his metallic head guard, bluish hair spiking out of it and exposed skin from his warrior-like clothing also has scales, only blue in colour making them look more like monsters than humans. Both had weapons as well, the woman had a viscous looking scythe, the man a sheathed sword.

"You were eavesdropping on us just now…weren't you?" the man said accusingly, his piercing raptor-like eyes looking between them.

Feeling robbed of his ability to speak, intimidated, Isaac rapidly shook his head, trying to back away slowly. If they knew he had heard what they had said, they would likely not take kindly to it.

"Isaac, they're scary," Garet whimpered, eyes wide as they stared at the strangers, his voice low in Isaac's ears. "Are you sure you should be talking to them?"

Isaac would have preferred to have never said a word to them or to speak to them ever again, but he couldn't reply before the woman spoke again

"You must forget everything you've heard," The woman said with an edge to her voice and Isaac gulped, realising she must have noticed the desperateness in Isaac's reply and realised he was lying.

"Don't worry," The man said almost kindly, but there was an edge in his voice that was impossible to ignore, "We'll help you forget!"

Horrified, Isaac felt frozen as he saw the strangers drawing their weapons and pounced towards them even as Isaac and Garet hurriedly drew their machetes to defend themselves. The last thing that Isaac remembered was seeing a glint of weapons flashing in the lightning and fire shooting towards them, the haste of trying to avoid it, unable to defend against Psynergy without Psynergy and a blast of pain with the sounds of screams, Garet's and his own ringing out into the air, swallowed by the storm before darkness enveloped his senses and he knew no more.

To Be Continued….

Chosha's Notes

Whew! That was a long chapter. Expect most chapters to be long, although perhaps not this long. Not sure yet. Anyway, Prologue is done! Next chapter will be the actual story. Thank you to Mr Martin who reviewed last time. I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!

If anyone has any questions, would like to leave a constructive criticism or just to say what you think, please review!

Next time on Tales of Weyard: Golden Sun:

Three years have past since the boulder, and all is well in Vale – but when two strangers show up, reminding Isaac of the past and his dreams of what happened that day, They begin to think that the strangers must be back to finish what they started three years ago.

Until then,

May your roots dig deep and your branches reach high,

Chosha Kurenai xXx