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 Weyard: 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.
Chapter One:
Three Years Later…
Isaac sat bolt upright with a gasp, fast enough to give himself whiplash, panting as if he had run a mile without stopping. His bear chest which heaved as he gulped in air and his back was coated in a thin layer of cold sweat and his bangs clung to his forehead from the perspiration. A hand jumped to his chest, as if expecting to find wounds from flames but only touching smooth skin. Swallowing, he looked around wildly. He was sitting up on his bed in the familiar space of his bedroom, blankets tangled around him from his thrashing while he slept. Beside him was a desk of mahogany, covered in various little knickknacks he collected over the years and a sheathed short sword that he used for practice lay over it, carefully placed so it wouldn't be knocked off and damaged, lying on top of this a pair of tan gloves. His tunic and over-shirt lay on the back of his chair, while soft leather boots sat at the bottom of his bed. Through the window over his desk the beginnings of sunlight could be seen from open shutters.
Sighing, he flopped back onto his bed, draping a hand over his eyes as he focused on breathing, to calm his rapid heart rate once more. "That Dream…." He murmured. "It was that dream again….."
He had dreamed of that day again. That day three years ago when his life had changed forever – the day of the Storm. The day his father had died. Three years. Three years since then. But then why was he dreaming about it now? And why, despite it having been so long and him having the same dream on and off, was it so very clear now?
Isaac groaned, reaching up and kneading his forehead with his knuckles. Had he done something or seen something recently that reminded him of that day? Or was it just because there had been a small storm the last night, though not as terrible as back then that he had subconsciously been reminded of it? And still there were some things that had been in the dream that he couldn't quite recall from the day, two strange people with scales for skin and piercing red reptilian eyes.
Shuddering at the memory, Isaac found that he couldn't find it in him to try and roll over and try to get to sleep, still unnerved by his dream, so rolled off the bed, pulling the blankets from himself as he swung his legs from the bed, the wood floor feeling cool against his feet. Getting used to the coolness, Isaac pushed himself up and padded his way to the looking glass that hung on the wall, peering into it.
Instead of the almost fourteen year old boy of back then, a young man of sixteen looked back at him. His straw-blonde hair stuck up in every direction, more so than normal after his restless night and intense azure blue eyes frowned faintly as he peered up at the mop[ of hair, running fingers through it in an effort to tame the messy locks futilely, making the muscles of his arm and chest shift under his lightly tanned skin. His eyes fell upon some marks on his chest, faint silvery smooth scars that littered his chest. Nothing big, ropy or impressive, in fact it looked like regular skin except for the silverness of it where healing hadn't been applied in time for it to heal unmarked. However, they were rather odd when he thought back to the situation in which he had got them. They appeared like small burn or scald marks, as if he had been touched by hot metal, leaving faded silvery marks behind. Which was somewhat odd when the events of three years ago, when he got said marks, were considered. No where in his memory could he think of where in the falling of Mt Aleph's Boulder he could have come in contact with fire or anything else hot for that matter.
Unless it had something to do with the gap in his memory…
After his father had vanished with the falling boulder, Garet had convinced him to get moving, to look for help as the boulder blocking the river could have turned the village into a lake and he had run towards the plaza. But that was when his memory became fuzzy. Obviously Garet had followed him, for he had been found unconscious alongside him on the road to the plaza, but what had happened between him running for help and being found unconscious? The healers had speculated that lightning had hit some rocks above them which had knocked them out, but it never sounded right to Isaac no mater how many times he heard it.
Carefully he ran his fingers over the small, burn-like scars on his chest considering. What if…What if those two reptilian strangers in his dream had actually been real? What if Isaac had actually overheard the conversation they had had, and they had caught him and attacked Garet and himself in an effort to 'Make them forget'? If it had been real it would explain the blank spot in his memory to more than just shock at seeing his father's death, and the marks would make more sense as being from fire Psynergy and flame heated weaponry than from boulders falling.
Heading back over to the bed and sinking down on it, he ran his hands through his hair again. Still, there were points in the dream that made little sense to him. If the dream had been real, the strangers had been talking about 'tackling Sol Sanctum again'. Well, in the last three years there had been no reptilian strangers around the village – and with Garet as the grandson of the mayor he would have surely heard about it and told him about it if he had by then, nor had their been any more storms the intensity of that day since then. So either they got into the sanctum and got whatever they wanted, though this was unlikely as there was usually an elder on patrol around the path to the sanctum who would have noticed them, or they had never showed up in the village again.
And yet…Isaac rubbed his temples again. And yet part of him could not discount the dream as being just that – a dream. It was too vivid, too detailed to be that. Plus Isaac didn't think he was a terribly imaginative person, or at least not that imaginative to have been able to make up, subconsciously or not, anything like those two without having seen something like that before….
"Isaac?" A voice called up the stairs, Making him jump a mile as he was yanked from his deep thoughts. Had they been that far away? "Isaac, are you awake?"
"Uh, Yeah, Mom," Isaac called back, hand on his chest in an effort to stop his heart from hammering so hard. He really needed to stop getting so lost in his thoughts otherwise he would end up having a heart attack from surprise one of these days.
"Will you be working on the roof this morning?" Dora's voice floated up the stairs again. "The wind last night really messed up the thatching and the weather's good today."
Oh yes, he had promised to fix the roof's thatching once the wind had died down hadn't he? Yesterday the storm – little more than some rumbling of thunder in the distance and high wind – had been too strong to attempt to fix, but if the weather was good now….well, he needed to get his mind off that weird dream for a while before his friends came to get him anyway and he had a few hours until then, so…
That in mind, he called back, "Yeah, in a minute. I just need to get ready and I'll sort it out."
"Thank you Isaac!" Dora's voice floated to him again, tinged with gratefulness. "I'll start up breakfast, shall I?"
"Mm, sounds good," Isaac agreed with a small smile as he grabbed his things to get ready. Once he had had a good wash and splashed his face with cold water a few times to wake him up more, began to get ready, pulling on his blue trousers and soft leather tan boots. Next came the blue, long sleeved tunic and his short sleeved yellow lined over-shirt. And fastened the belt to his waist, before he strapped his short sword to his back. Lastly, of course, his now signature yellow scarf tied over his left shoulder, a memento of his father that, since he had died, Isaac had never left the house without.
Gently, Isaac ran his fingers over the cotton considering. His father had given the scarf to him for his thirteenth birthday. It had once belonged to Kyle, he had been told by his father, and it had given him a lot of good luck. At the time, Isaac had hated it. It had been too big, looked ridiculous in his opinion on his small, skinny frame and he refused to believe such a normal scarf could be 'lucky' at all. However, his father had seemed eager for him to have it and he didn't want to hurt his father's feelings, so he had taken the gift gracefully with the intent of never wearing it. However, then that storm had come and his father died. His death had been a shock to him. At an age where he would normally have learned the most from him, even beginning to learn Psynergy, his father was suddenly gone, leaving him feeling lost, set adrift without guidance. So he had worn the scarf, no matter how stupid he felt or how much he didn't believe a bit of cloth could bring him good luck, because even if only a little bit, it helped him to feel close to the parent he had lost. Thankfully, it seemed he had grown into it.
Shaking those thoughts from his head – why were his thoughts so morbid today? (he blamed the dream) – Isaac gave the scarf one last tug to make sure the knot wouldn't come undone, Isaac headed downstairs, giving his mother a small kiss on the cheek in greeting as he took his breakfast from her, fully intending to not put any more thoughts into the dream. After all, even if it was true, it happened three years ago and nothing could be done about it anyway. Besides, it was only a dream of the past, it didn't mean anything, so why worry?
Once breakfast was over, Isaac gathered his tools together, tucking them under one arm as he stepped out into the sunlight, taking a deep breath of early morning mountain air as he surveyed the day. Vale hadn't changed much in three years, though a lot of the damages done from the Boulder had been cleaned up, houses fixed and life had gone one. The river chuckled close by and in the distance he could hear the faint sound of rushing water from the waterfall as crystal clear water flowed from Mt Aleph. Everything smelt fresh from the morning due. Nodding to himself he got the ladder and placed it against the side of the house, before climbing up to see what the damage was.
It wasn't as bad as he had thought that it was going to be. The thatching had been thinned somewhat in places of the roof, leaving three holes that would need to be fixed. Putting down the straw he had got to repair the roof he laid it out ready to put into bundles. It was somewhat tricky, as it could get a little intricate and fiddly, generally taking the longer time to do than the actual roof repair, but once he was done, he'd be ready to finish off and be done in no time at all.
The sun felt warm on his back as he finished tying the bundles and he sat back a little, stretching as he felt his spine pop a little as the bones got used to being straight again, scrubbing the back of his hand across his forehead to wipe beads of sweat. He was just wondering if he should stop for a quick break or if he should hurry up and finish the little more he had to do, since his friends should be coming around soon when Dora popped up at the top of the ladder with a glass of water. Isaac grinned wirily. She always seemed to know just when to appear (or when not to if it was something that would get him in trouble, he reminded himself). Gratefully, he took the water and drank deeply, letting the cool water trickle down the back of his parched throat.
"Thanks Mom," Isaac sighed with relief, handing the now empty glass back to her.
"You're welcome dear," Dora said with a smile before disappearing down the steps again. However, a moment later, he heard her call up to him again. "Ob, by the way, Isaac! Are you almost finished mending the roof yet?"
"I've made the bundles," Isaac called back down to her, "I just need to fix the holes now. Shouldn't take too long." He added as an afterthought.
"So you're almost done? OK, keep at it! You don't want to be late for your friends coming to meet you."
"Right!"
That done, Isaac turned back to the task at hand. Eying the bundles for a moment, a small smile appeared on his face before he glanced around to see if anyone was looking. He knew using psynergy for such a mundane task would be frowned upon, but he was training and it did do wonders for endurance. That in Mind he stood up and, putting his hand out he concentrated and a gleam of psynergy flowed around him as the first bundle glowed with his psynergy as well – and if lifted gently into the air.
Since the storm, Isaac and Garet, along with Jenna, had begun to train themselves in Psynergy. Garet had got his parents to show him how to use his Psynergy and had begun to train as hard as he could. For Jenna and Isaac it was somewhat harder. For Isaac he would have normally learned his Psynergy from his father, who had been the strongest Psynergy user in the household. However, with him gone, Dora had taught him the basics, but when it came to using and Psynergy that didn't involve the catch beads he was on his own, studying more through theory and experimentation, while Jenna had to learn it on her own or would sometimes bother Garet or Isaac long enough to learn. Soon they learned which element they could command. Garet had been a fire adept, something neither Isaac or Jenna were surprised about when considering Garet's usual method of act first ask questions later attitude. Meanwhile, Jenna, unlike her brother and father, had taken after her mother and also favored fire Psynergy, so she and Garet would sometimes team up to train together since they were both of the same element.
On the other hand, Isaac, like his father before him, was an earth Adept, able to manipulate the earth. When he found out, neither of his friends were surprised. Apparently as obvious as it was that Jenna and Garet favored fire, it was obvious he would be able to manipulate Earth. Garet had said that he was as stubborn as a rock when Isaac had asked why (which had earned him a withering look from Isaac and a frown and a slap across the back of the head by Jenna) While Jenna had said it was his down to earth nature and his gentle compassion that marked him out as an earth Adept. But whatever it was, neither had been surprised by the revelation.
Still, since they were of these elements, they would try to train together the best they could. For the most part, Jenna and Garet had an easier time of it due to their nature being the same and Isaac would sometimes be able to pick up pointers. Once during training Isaac had managed to shock them both when Garet had been trying to teach Jenna a fire psynergy ability called 'Move' that could use psynergy to push or pull nearby objects. Strangely, Jenna was having problems with it, but it was rather an….easy concept for Isaac who had been listening in at the time. Perhaps it was just because Garet was using a large stone at the time and he would be moving around his own element because of it, but without really thinking about it he had suddenly used his own psynergy to push it over a few paces, leaving Jenna gob smacked before ranting about how Isaac, a Venus Adept, could manage it when she, a Mars Adept, could not, while Garet had been dumbfounded. Maybe it was because Garet's back had been to Isaac and the Stone at the time but Isaac had to Move it around a bit to tease him before he noticed it.
However, for the most part, Isaac could only sit and watch them throwing fire around and try and use the theory of it for self study. However, when they trained in fire Psynergy for too long, Isaac would go and seek some training from the Elders who were mostly Earth Adepts. It was from them that Isaac had learned Retreat and Cure, the later which was certainly useful and he had a lot of practice in when Garet overdid training and ended up with scorched hands from using fire Psynergy for too long. Sometimes when they really wanted to learn more about psynergy, the three of them would also go to the Scholar, Kraden, to try and learn more. Kraden was an Alchemy Sage and he was probably the expert on Psynergy in the village despite being unable to use Psynergy himself.
Using Psynergy was a strange feeling that he could never quite explain except to another Venus Adept like himself. Garet and Jenna both explained to him that it felt like a heat running through them and a spark lighting deep within, but generally needed a lot of concentration for it, but for Isaac it felt different. It felt….tingly, as if he was drawing up energy from the very earth itself and while of course he had to concentrate, he didn't feel he needed to concentrate that much that his brain would burst as the fire Adepts needed to. Jenna thought that perhaps it was due to Earth being solid matter, whereas fire was much more volatile. Isaac was inclined to agree.
Whatever it was, it was this feeling he drew upon as he Moved the straw, carrying it over to where it was needed and lowering it to the hole before releasing it. While he had fairly good control over the psynergy he could use, he didn't want to test his luck when it came to the delicate intricate working of thatching, at least not at his level. Therefore he physically patching it himself once he had Moved the bundles.
Psynergy certainly helped the workload and in what seemed like no time at all, the roof was fixed and Isaac sat back on his heals, dusting off his gloves as he surveyed the job he had done with a critical eye before nodding in satisfaction.
"Good job Isaac," Dora's voice came from below – she must have come out to see how he was doing just as he finished off. A few seconds later he heard the creak of the ladder and Dora climbed onto the roof carefully surveying what had been done appreciatively. "You patched it up nicely. Alright, you're all done." She looked over at him, giving him a wistful smile. "You're very reliable, Isaac," she said softly. "Just like your father was."
Isaac flinched slightly and swallowed the lump that had come up in his throat, trying to look anywhere but at Dora. Why all the reminders of that day this morning? First the dream and now this. He hated thinking about that day. Sometimes he truly wished he could forget all about it. Sometimes he succeeded, but something would always bring it back up to the forefront of his mind – the pitying looks that he and Jenna would sometimes receive, a poignant reminder, a dream like that morning or, like this, a comment about his character in relation to his father. It wasn't that he wanted to forget his father all together or anything, but the memory of his death hurt despite it being the driving force behind his desire to study Psynergy. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could change the past, but he could stop something like that from happening again. No one should have to learn the pain of losing a parent like that after all. But still, the reminder of the day heart, more than he would ever show. He didn't want pity. And he didn't want his mother to worry about him on top of everything else.
Still, it seemed that Dora's 'Mother instinct' was still as sharp as ever and she could still read him like an open book as she said "What is it, Isaac? Do you still think about the incident?"
"No," Isaac lied quickly. He wouldn't normally lie to his mother, but he didn't want her to worry.
Dora sighed, obviously having read something on his face before she said "I don't believe you." (Make that read me like a baby book, Isaac thought with a wince.) "You and Garet have been working yourselves to the bone studying Psynergy. Do you think things would be any different if you had stronger abilities?"
Isaac really did flinch this time. He knew he couldn't change the past. He knew it. But still, if he had Psynergy back then….
Not trusting himself to speak, Isaac nodded, Gloved hands curling tightly into fists on his lap.
"That's what I thought," Dora said with a nod before turning away, looking up at the sky. "I was devastated when Kyle died….I felt all alone." Glancing up from under his bangs, he noticed that lost, lonely look that would sometimes cross her face since 'the incident' and again, Isaac mentally cursed whatever was bringing up all these memories of that horrible day. "Its taken some time, but I'm better now," She added, shaking off the distant look as she turned around to face him, her blue eyes sad and gentle. "I still have you, Isaac."
But it shouldn't be just me, Isaac couldn't help but think sadly, Dad should be here too…
Unconsciously he fingered the tails of his scarf.
Still, he pulled himself to the present again when Dora began speaking again, a note of pride in her voice as she looked at him. "You're almost seventeen. You're so much like Kyle was when he was young. I'm looking forwards to seeing where life takes you."
Isaac looked up at his mother's face again, her hair neatly in its usual bun, the odd grey streaked into gold and lines marked her eyes, and yet she still had that prideful look in her eyes as she looked at him. Almost feeling uncomfortable by the attention, Isaac could feel his face heating up.
"MA'AAAAAAM!!!"
Isaac almost jumped at the new voice and yanked his eyes away from his mother, feeling a rush of gratitude for the distraction from the uncomfortable topic as a girl with brown eyes and reddish-brown hair climbed onto the roof, dusting off her pink, red and brown shaded dress. Smiling, Isaac scrambled to his feet to great his friend. "Jenna!"
"Hello Jenna," Dora said fondly. In the last three years Jenna would often come around to their house and Dora, who had never had a daughter, had grown quite fond of her.
"Good morning," Jenna said, smiling a little at Isaac too, who shot her a grateful look. From the way she did not seem confused by it her interruption of the conversation may have not been entirely accidental.
"Morning," Isaac agreed.
"Yes, yes…Good morning," Dora added, somewhat distractedly when the ladders creaked once more and this time a head with spiky fire-red hair popped up from the edge of the thatching and climbed onto the roof also – it was beginning to get a little crowded up there, he noticed – his muscular arms showing under his short sleeves. He cast Isaac a lopsided grin, which Isaac returned to his best friend.
"Well if it isn't Garet too!" Dora said, looking them over before she recalled that Isaac had told her the day before they would be meeting up. "Where do you all plan to go today?"
"We're going to Mt Aleph with Kraden," Garet pipped up. Isaac shot him a quick look, wishing he hadn't said anything. He hadn't told Dora that they had planned to climb Mt Aleph and he knew his mother was somewhat disapproving of their interest in the study of Alchemy.
"Mountain climbing with Kraden, eh?" Dora said, that note already in her voice.
"Yeah," Garet said, despite Isaac hissing "Shut up already," so his mother couldn't see. Garet, realizing he said something he probably shouldn't gave Isaac a sheepish look. Jenna rolled her eyes.
Dora looked them over a moment before shaking her head. "Kids and their games…."
"Hey!" Isaac frowned, feeling a stab of irritation. If felt rather insulted that his mother thought they were just playing games, although it as tempered with amusement at the thought of Kraden, who was at least mid sixties in age, being referred to as a 'kid'.
Jenna seemed insulted that Dora thought they were just 'Playing games'. "No! It's part of our studies…."
"Ah yes, Alchemy," Dora said, that disapproving glint in her voice again, but closed her eyes, resisting something she had picked up from Isaac. "Alchemy is the foundation of all Psynergy…and you know Mt Aleph is the greatest source of all Alchemy," she sighed. "I wonder what the use of it all is?" she murmured as she paced to the top of the roof, then gave Isaac a side look. "Your mother would rather see you grow up to be a happy, ordinary man."
Isaac really didn't know what to say to that. Of course he didn't want to have a miserable life, but to be just ordinary and live out the same life as anyone else from the village…that was hard to imagine. Ever since he and his friends began to study Alchemy under Kraden and hearing about all of the wonderful places in Weyard….it was hard to imagine spending his whole life in Vale when there was a whole world out there to see.
"I suppose you'll still want to go…." Dora said, obviously seeing the look on Isaac's face.
"Sure I do," Isaac said. "We've been planning it all week."
Dora huffed slightly. "Well if that won't persuade you, I guess nothing will!" She closed her eyes, a vein pulsing at her temple in irritation. "You're just as stubborn as your father," she stomped her foot in irritation.
"Hey, Mom, be careful-" Isaac started, but the warning came too late as her foot slipped and she flapped her arms to try and right herself as she stumbled backwards.
"Ahhhh!"
"Be careful Ma'am!" Garet cried, clumsily rushing forwards to help her, making a grab for Dora's arm, not heeding Jenna's cry of "Garet! Don't!"
A crunching sound caused Isaac to cover his eyes with a wince as there was a second thud. Slowly, Isaac parted his fingers to find Garet stuck with his foot in a now newly formed hole in the roof, having obviously found a weak spot when he jumped for Dora and was now knee deep in straw roof with one leg, while Dora herself was clambering back onto the top of the roof. Isaac sighed with relief that no one was hurt and Jenna stifled a giggle at Garet's predicament.
"Oh, that was exciting!" Dora giggled as she climbed back onto the roof again.
"You almost gave me a heart attack," Isaac sighed, rubbing his chest to try and encourage his heart to slow down.
"I'm sorry I scared you like that," Dora said before she finally saw Garet. "Well!"
Garet froze like a dear caught in a hunter's trap and began to stutter out an apology. Despite the fact that Garet was a head taller than Dora, Garet, like most of the people of the village, definitely didn't want to be faced by her rage. "I'm Sorry, Ma'am," he squeaked hastily as he finally freed his foot. "I'll get out of your way right away!" he added, stepping away from the hole – only to put his foot on another weak spot.
"Garet, wait!" Isaac hastily said as Jenna said "Wait! Not there!"
"Huh? What's wrong with-!" However, once again, Garet's foot ended up through the roof and Isaac hung his head, hand covering his eyes in despair of his clumsy friend, hoping he wouldn't have to fix it all over again as Jenna stifled another laugh.
"Oh never mind…." Dora sighed, running a hand over her face, too used to Garet's clumsiness by now after Isaac had befriended him at a young age. It still exasperated her, however. "But you'd better get going."
Isaac blinked, surprised. He had thought that he would need to fix the roof again before he could leave. Jenna was obviously as surprised as he was as she pulled back the hand she was going to offer to Garet to get him out in sock, causing Garet, who suddenly found the hand withdrawn, to loose his balance again, foot still stuck and face planted in the roof again.
Seeing their shocked faces, Dora elaborated, hands on her hips. "This old house will fall apart if you stay much longer," she said, eyeing them leaving Isaac and Jenna looking sheepish and Garet, who'd managed to sit himself back up again to look fittingly guilty as he tried to get his foot out again. "I'll get this fixed up," Dora added kindly to Isaac (Isaac tried not to make his relief too obvious) "You don't have to hang around here."
"Are….are you sure….?" Isaac managed, blinking. But she nodded. He couldn't believe his luck. He'd have to think of a way to make it up to her later.
"Thank you, Ma'am," Jenna said gratefully and Dora's gaze softened.
"Please, call me Dora," She said fondly.
"We'll be going right away!" Garet said hurriedly. Dora looked almost alarmed.
"Wait, Garet…Just watch your step."
Once more Garet flushed red as his hair, but this time he did as told and once he removed his foot he stepped very carefully over the roof as if expecting it to fall through with every step as they finally climbed down.
"Well, we'll be going now," Isaac said. "See you later."
"Now, you three be careful climbing now, you hear?" Dora said. "I don't want to find out any of you have fallen and broken your necks or something." She gave Garet a side look as she said this.
"Hey…." Garet started, but Isaac cut over him.
"We'll be careful," Isaac promised, quite used to her worrying attitude after sixteen years of it.
"Yeah," Garet agreed, slinging an arm around Isaac's shoulder. "Besides, if anything did happen we have Isaac with us to heal us all up."
Isaac flushed at the praise.
"Yes, well, I'd prefer it if none of you got hurt at all," Dora said disapprovingly.
"Don't worry, Ma- I mean, Dora," Jenna said with a smile. "I'll make sure to keep these knuckleheads in line."
"Hey!" Garet protested.
Isaac just rolled his eyes, shoving Garet's arm off him. "Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence," he said sarcastically, making Jenna giggle.
"Well, come on," Jenna said. "We're going to be late for meeting Kraden if we don't hurry and you know what he's like."
"Yeah, no kidding," Isaac said. Kraden, despite being qite old was easily excitable and as energetic as a little kid sometimes. It was hard sometimes to think that Kraden was actually a highly educated scholar and Alchemy sage. It caused them no end of amusement.
"Make sure to tell Mr Kraden I said hello," Dora added. Despite her disapproval of Alchemy she wasn't disapproving enough to be rude to him. Kraden was hard to dislike.
"We will," The three of them promised. With one last wave from Dora, who began to get ready to fix the roof again, the three of them began to head off towards Kraden's home.
However, before they even got past Garet's house they were interrupted by a shout.
"Garet! Garet! Hey, Garet!"
"Huh?" said redhead looked around and Isaac wondering what his friend had done this time, glanced around to see Garet's younger sibling, Aaron, running towards them. "Wgat's up, Aaron?"
"You're in trouble now, Garet," Aaron said, almost sounding amused. "….Your sister's really mad!"
"What….wait, my sister?" Garet spluttered but Aaron was already running off back the way he had come. Growling, Garet yelled at Aaron's retreating back. "Oh yeah? Kay's only just 'my sister' when she's pissed off at me! She's your sister too!"
"What have you done this time?" Isaac sighed, for not the first time. Sometimes he was glad he was an only child.
"I didn't do anything!" Garet protested.
"Well you must have done something for Kay to be angry at you," Jenna accused. "Come on, let's see what you've gone and done or it'll be even worse for you later."
"But….but…" Garet stammered as Jenna grabbed him by the back of the shirt and began to drag him along after her. "What about Kraden?"
"I'm sure Kraden will understand," Isaac said with a grin at Garet's betrayed look he shot Isaac for not getting him out of the situation as he followed.
"Thank for the support, Isaac…" Garet growled.
Even if Garet had wanted to avoid his sister and make his way straight to Kraden's he didn't have much of a choice as they came into view of Kay, who was fuming as she stared down at where Garet's training rock was and the reason why she was so furious was apparent when Isaac followed her gaze. Some rather colourful flowers that had once been quite pretty were crushed underneath the rock. Isaac winced. Kay was always very proud of her flowers. No wonder she was angry. If Isaac had a flower garden, he'd be furious also – not that he had one.
When she caught sight of them, her eyes zeroed in on Garet who looked like he was trying to run, but couldn't with Jenna's vice-grip on the back of his shirt as she stalked over, red hair sweeping out behind her, making a marvelous impression of a saber-toothed tiger in her fury. "Ooooo, Garet!" she roared. "You make me so mad sometimes!" she pointed at him, prodding him in the chest with a finger accusingly. "Your training stone crushed my flowers!"
"Sis….Sis, I can explain!" Garet started, but Kay cut him off.
"You're in for it tonight…" she snarled and Isaac was sure that he saw sparks coming from her clenched fists. "Just. You. Wait. And. See!"
It was almost funny to see Garet, who was much more muscular and taller than his sister cowering in the face of her wrath. "Alright, alright, I'll move it!" he squeaked, hurrying over to the stone and concentrating, a gleaming aura of Psynergy surrounded Garet and a familiar ghostly looking hand appeared, Moving the training stone off the flower garden. Glancing over, Isaac could already tell that just moving the rock off them wasn't going to do much – the damage to the flowers was already done. Isaac wished that he could make them better as it screamed to his Venus Adept self, but there was little he could do for the crushed flowers. He could make flowers grow sometimes, but not revive dead ones.
"You really need to watch where you're training…" Jenna snorted as Garet glanced over helplessly.
"But you know that I have to really concentrate when training!" Garet protested. "Otherwise I might not be able to do it and mess up!" He glanced over at his sister, who, if anything, looked even more stormy faced than before. "Uh….Isaac, mate….Um…you wouldn't be able to use Cure and heal up those flowers with your earth Psynergy, would you?" he asked hopefully.
"Sorry Garet," Isaac shrugged apologetically, "Cure only works on Humans." Well, he could make sick flowers healthy again if he really wanted to but crushed ones? Even he didn't have the power to rescue obviously dead plants like these ones.
Garet's face fell.
"I'll get you for my flowers…." Kay vowed darkly. "Just you see what happens….tonight!"
Garet shuddered, face turning pale as chalk at the tone in his sister's voice as she promised retribution and Isaac decided that, grandson of the Mayor or not, he didn't envy his friend one bit.
"We better get going to see Kraden before Kay decides to lynch Garet right now," Jenna said dryly, causing Garet to shudder again and practically set off at a run over the bridge to get to Kraden's house (and away from vengeful siblings) faster than Isaac had ever seen him move.
Sharing an amused glance with Jenna, Isaac hurried after his larger friend.
"Don't go without us!" Jenna yelled as they ran to catch up. "Otherwise your sister wont be the only one you have to watch out for!"
Thankfully it seemed that did the trick and they soon caught up to him with a playful shove as they headed towards Kraden's, lightly teasing Garet about the flowers playfully as they walked to pass the time until Garet grabbed Isaac in a headlock and began to rub his fist against Isaac's hair.
The scholar, Kraden, lived in a small house overlooking the place that Isaac and his friends used to play as children on the western outskirts and had moved into the village a few months after the storm in order to study Alchemy, as according to legend, Mt Aleph was its greatest source. It had taken a while to convince the elders but, eventually Kraden was permitted to live and research within the village itself as long as he didn't go about advertising the fact that Psynergy users lived in the village. For some reason, back then, learning about Alchemy had seemed important for Garet and Isaac. Maybe it was because they wanted to become strong Adepts and Alchemy was the founded by Psynergy, or, in light of the dream last night, could have been a lingering memory of what the strangers had been talking about and had not managed to make him fully forget. Whatever the reason, Kraden was an expert, a sage, on the subject, so later, Isaac and Garet, accompanied by Jenna who had wanted to get her mind off her own troubles, sought him out to teach them. Thankfully rather than the grouchy old man with 'no time for children' as they were expecting, they had been pleased to find him lively and energetic, jovially and eagerly accepting them as pupils. The subject itself was extremely interesting and Kraden would often go into deep, descriptive detail to his eager listeners, and over time the trio had started to become quite knowledgeable of the subject in their own rights.
They had just been about to turn the corner when Jenna stopped them, pulling them back.
"Hey, there are some people hanging around Kraden's house I've never seen before," she whispered, peering around the corner.
"Grandpa mentioned something about strangers in the village. He was really annoyed because they didn't even introduce themselves to him."
"That's a little rude," Isaac agreed. Everyone knew that the first thing you did in town if you were staying a while or had business in a village was to introduce themselves to the Mayor. He doubted they were just passing through if they were hanging around Kraden's house and Vale was rather secluded so it was difficult to just 'pass through' when it was so out of the way. "I wonder why they're hanging around here then?"
"Maybe they're here to see Kraden?" Jenna suggested in a whisper so they wouldn't draw there attention. "I mean he is a famous scholar, right?"
"Lets have a look," Garet said, motioning for Jenna to shift over as he peered around the corner, then froze. "I…Isaac….it….its them!"
"Who?" Isaac asked, looking around also and he felt his body stiffen, mind screeching to a halt, terror running through him and he yanked the two of them back from around the corner, practically pressing them against the wall, a hand tightly over his own mouth as a sick feeling rose in his throat.
"Isaac….Garet….what-?" Jenna started, but Garet quickly hushed her. Isaac, however, was lost in thought.
It was as if the dream from that morning, with the memory returning where those two had been concerned, had been a premonition. It had to be. Why else would he have dreamed about these two, just to find only a few hours later that they were there, in the village once again? How could Garet himself be so calm? He obviously remembered them, although he hadn't been present to hear the conversation that Isaac had…
However, Isaac pulled himself from his thoughts as he heard the familiar voice of the reptilian strangers once again.
"They seem to know little of Sol Sanctum's mysteries."
Garet and Jenna stilled as Isaac had, looking at each other in confusion. Isaac bit his lip. Had they gone to Sol Sanctum again like they had been talking about back then? Concerned now, although for different reasons, the three of them pressed themselves against the ledge, listening intently as the man continued. "The elders of Vale must not permit anyone to enter it, not even Kraden."
"Kraden…." The woman said thoughtfully. "Can we use him?"
"Hmmm….his knowledge is no meager thing….we can use him."
"But he's more stubborn than expected…" The woman sounded irritated by that fact.
"And cunning, too…" the man added grudgingly. "Cunning beyond measure."
"If he won't go willingly," the woman said almost darkly, causing Jenna to gasp and clap hands to her mouth in horror as she realized what the woman was implying. "then we can always…."
However, what they could do would not be found out through the woman as she cut off, leaving the trio confused. What caused them to stop? Nervously they looked around the edge as the man whipped around, stalking in there direction, cloak billowing out behind him and Isaac realized what must have happened and quickly grabbed the other two to try and back off. Obviously the man had heard Jenna's gasp. However, they didn't get very far as there was no where to hide and the man rounded the corner.
Isaac felt his heart hammering in his chest. The man looked much more intimidating up close as he snarled at them and Isaac was sure the man's teeth even seemed sharper than they were meant to be. The woman had also approached as well, her eyes widening in surprise for a moment before narrowing once more as she realized what they must have been doing.
"You there!" The man snarled, "What are you doing?"
"What are we doing?" Garet's managed dumbly.
"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" the woman hissed, looking between them suspiciously and Isaac felt a sharp sense of Deja-vu. If he answered no, would they pick up the lie and attack them again? But if they admitted they had done they would definitely know they'd overheard them and definitely attack them again. However, unlike the time before, there were people around, Isaac realized, feeling a little more braver. F one of them screamed or there was the sound of battle, people would come running and no mater how powerful these two were they probably wouldn't be able to take on the entire village or they wouldn't be sneaking around. Plus, unlike the time before, they had psynergy to back them up. Isaac felt braver and with his bravery some of his anger from three years ago sparked in him, banishing his fear.
"Of course not," Isaac said, frowning as if he was annoyed at the very thought of being accused.
The woman humphed. "I guess I should take you at your word…." She sad, obviously coming to similar conclusions as Isaac had.
Isaac felt a spark of triumph. Now that they didn't have to worry about them attacking them to 'make them forget', Isaac had other things to worry about – namely if they were going to sneak into Sol sanctum again and do goodness knew what damage to Vale again. And what had they done, or would they do, to Kraden? However he couldn't concider it for long since Garet spoke up.
"Hey! You're the ones who were sneaking around!" Garet growled causing the strangers to look at each other. Isaac hoped they wouldn't risk attacking them.
"Sneaking…..who are you to accuse me?" the man snarled at Garet in return, causing Garet to back off a little. The woman, however, obviously realizing something, blinked.
"So Kraden's engagement was with you…"
Nervously, Jenna nodded, obviously finding her voice again. "Yeah, we're off to meet him right now."
"And this appointment is enough to drive us away?" the man asked dryly, almost sarcastically.
However, not even Jenna was brave enough to speak back at the man who seemed on edge anyway, but before he'd even thought about it, Isaac's distain for them caused him to speak.
"Yes," Isaac said firmly, meeting the man's ever so slightly surprised and suspicious eyes with his own, staring each other down. Stunned, Garet and Jenna stared at their blonde haired friend as if he had grown a second head. Isaac didn't usually speak to people so harshly. However, Isaac ignored them, continuing to stair down the other man. He needed to find out if they had done anything to Kraden. And he needed to find out if they had challenged Sol Sanctum again. If they had…..No, Isaac couldn't just sit by while knowingly allowing them to cause another storm….
"Pfeh!" the man spat finally, eyeing Isaac distainfully. "If your errend is more important than our own, then…." He looked them over for a moment before the tension ran from his shoulders and an almost smile quirked his lips that made Isaac's hair stand on end. "Go…"
It seemed not only Isaac was a little surprised by this. Even the woman seemed startled.
"You're letting us go?" Jenna blurted.
"Are you sure, Saturos?" the woman asked slowly, as if trying to work out what was on his mind.
"Menardi," the man, Saturos, drawled. "we have no reason to delay these children any further," he purred, red eyes watching them a moment and Isaac suppressed a shiver. Still, Saturos stepped back, waving them off dismissively. Obviously displeased, the woman, Menardi did the same. "Go, children," Saturos purred. "You mustn't keep Kraden waiting."
For some reson his tone made a cold shiver flow down Isaac's spine.
"Let's….Let's go, Isaac," Garet said, clearly feeling as perturbed as Isaac was.
Carefully, they edged passed the two before almost running towards Kraden's home. All the way, Isaac could feel their sharp blood red eyes boring into their backs.
"Who the heck are they?" Garet blurted out once they were out of earshot. "Creepy…"
"Going around like they own the place," Jenna huffed, then looked at Isaac. "That was rather brave of you to stad up to them like that," she said finally. "But that could have been dangerous, too. But why did you too look so freaked out when you saw them?" she asked. "You look so pale…are you ok?"
Isaac shared a look with Garet a moment before nodding, distractedly. "I'm fine," he said automatically. Seeing her disbelieving look he shared a glance with his friend again then said "Look, I….I'll explain later, ok? I'm more worried about Kraden."
Jenna frowned, but let the subject drop. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did something to him," she admitted, darkly.
"I'm with Isaac," Garet said. "Let's go see what they wanted with him."
Grimly the three of them nodded and hurried over to Kraden's house, almost fearing the worst. However, as they approached his home, they found Kraden not harmed at all. In fact he seemed in perfect health except for the frown on his face and the fact he was restlessly pacing outside the door mumbling to himself, clearly perturbed. As they drew closer, Isaac began to make out what he was saying.
"Who were they?" he murmured to himself, "They already know too much about Sol sanctum…things that even the elders of Vale don't know." If Isaac had doubted the events of the dream before, that swept his doubts away. "And what were they saying about the elements? The elements of Alchemy: Earth, Water, Fire and Wind….They plan to set them into motion?" If anything, Kraden appeared even more confused. "And the four elements are the key?" He wondered aloud, before shaking his head, rubbing his temples with his hand. "These are things even I, a trained Alchemy sage, do not know…."
"Well, I'm glad he's not hurt….but I wonder what he's talking about?" Jenna said, confused.
"Only one way to find out I suppose," Garet said before he raised his voice. "Hey, Kraden!" He said in greeting. However, instead of a usually cheerful hello in response, they were completely ignored as Kraden continued to mumble under his breath.
Surprised and not just a little concerned, Isaac shared a glance with his friends before he approached, tapping him on the arm. "Hey, Kraden, what-" He cut off, however, when Kraden practically jumped out of his skin. Feeling more concerned now he withdrew his hand. "Kraden?" he asked, more gently this time.
"Oh! Isaac….."Kraden sighed, rubbing his chest as if trying to calm a rapidly beating heart
Sharing a meaningful glance at the boys of the group, Jenna stepped forwards kindly, deciding for the subtle approach. "You look like something's bothering you."
Kraden's face clouded for a moment, becoming distracted once more. "Me? Ah well….." He trailed off, as if unsure how to explain or if he should say anything at all. Garet, however, made the decision for him.
"It's those two, isn't it?" Garet growled, looking back where they had come from. Isaac wondered if they were still out there. "Saturos and Menardi were there names, right?"
"That's what it sounded like," Isaac agreed.
Kraden blinked before squinting through the trees, trying to see through. "Are they still there?" he asked, half worried, half exasperated. "They're very persistent…"
Seeing the conversation was going in the right direction, Jenna jumped at the chance. "Did they want something from you, Kraden?"
"That seems to be the case…" Kraden said distractedly, trying to spot if the two strangers had moved on yet or not.
"They waited for him to elaborate with bated breath, but he said nothing more. Isaac glanced at his friends wondering if they had any idea what they might want Kraden for, but they looked as clueless as he was. Perhaps even more so since at least Isaac had some theories considering he knew the conversation back then too.
Finally, Jenna's patience ran out first. "Seems to be?" she prompted.
Failing to see any sign of the strangers, Kraden abandoned his search and turned his attention to his pupils once more. "Mt Aleph and Sol Sanctum…." He said slowly, as if considering his words. "They spoke as if they'd seen them with their own eyes…"
Unbidden, the conversation of three years ago rose in Isaac's mind. He must have looked pale or disturbed because Jenna cast him a concerned look. However, Kraden either didn't notice it or spoke because of it. "Itsn't that strange?"
"Sure it is," Isaac managed. "I mean it took you ages to convince the elders to allow you to go the Mt Aleph, didn't it?"
"Yes," Kraden agreed. "You can't enter Mt Aleph without very good reason."
Jenna gasped in realization as she put two and two together. "And if they entered secretly then they might be thieves!"
Anger clouded Garet's face. He might not have been the brightest candle on the stand but no one could doubt his loyalty and if someone was trying to steal from the village he couldn't just sit by and let that happen. "We have to go tell the high elders and the villagers!"
Isaac definitely had no argument there. "Let's go," he said, turning to leave.
However he didn't get very far as Kraden grabbed the back of Isaac's scarf, making Isaac wince painfully as he was choked momentarily. "Wait everyone!"
"Why?" Isaac managed to gasp out, rubbing his abused throat.
Kraden frowned. "I still don't know how accurate the thinks they said were….we can do nothing until we confirm what they told me."
Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but paused in realization. As much as he wanted to stop them, if they did tell the elders, they would need evidence, and even if Isaac backed up the story with what was said three years ago, it would only complicate things – like why he hadn't told them back then. It would probably be brushed off as only a dream not as a repressed memory, and they would all be scolded for wasting time.
His friends seemed to come to similar conclusions from the deflated look from Garet and the hopeless one from Jenna.
"Then what should we do?" Jenna asked desperately.
Kraden, however, didn't seem hopeless. Actually he seemed brimming with a kind of excitement. "Well, we go confirm it," he said as if it was the most obvious thing to do in the world.
"Let me get this straight," Garet said with a note of incredulousness in his voice. "….do you mean we should go to sol sanctum ourselves?"
Kraden nodded, pleased that they were catching on.
"Isn't that impossible?" Jenna asked.
"Why would it be?" Kraden asked, resulting in three incredulous looks. And Kraden was meant to be a scholar? "Just because climbing Mt Aleph is forbidden?"
"Well….yeah," Isaac said. "I mean….its forbidden, isn't it? Of course its impossible. They'd never let us do it."
"We're just going to see whether they've been to the mountain," Kraden said soothingly. "Surely that would be acceptable?"
Garet thought this over a moment. "We'll be fine if they don't see us, right?" he asked finally.
"Well, I guess…." Isaac admitted.
"Right," Garet said, sounding more convinced now. "We wont be doing anything bad up there."
"This will just be our secret, ok?" Jenna added, looking between the boys.
"Alright," Isaac agreed.
"Then it's decided!" Kraden said, seeing as all three of them agreed. "We'll make you the leader, ok, Isaac?"
Isaac jumped a mile in surprise, pointing to himself. "Who, me?" he stammered.
"There are some dangerous places between Mt Aleph and Sol Sanctum, but you can handle it, right, Isaac?" Garet said, nudging Isaac.
"You're more catious than Garet is, Isaac, so you'll be fine." Jenna encouraged, despite Garet's eyebrow ticking and muttering 'You don't have to be so blunt…" under his breath.
"But….but…." Isaac stammered.
"I'll take over if you get Nervous," Garet said, trying to get his pride back.
Jenna rolled her eyes. "If Garet is our leader we'll be the ones who are nervous, don't you agree, Kraden?"
Garet looked away, crossing his arms. "Dammit, Jenna, you don't have to be so mean…." He growled, causing Isaac and Jenna to share amused glances.
"Alright then," Isaac said. "I'll try my best."
However, before anything else could be said, Kraden disappeared back in the house again. "Huh? Kraden?" Isaac started, looking into the house as Kraden had dashed to a draw and began to throw things out rapidly, before cloecting something that looked like bags before coming back to them. Ignoring his pupils' confused looks, Kraden said "This is our best bet. Alright! Let's go!" Kraden said, marching off.
Isaac looked back to his friends, seeing fond exasperation on there faces, before shrugging. "Maybe we should have just made him leader, huh?" he joked as they quickly ran to catch up.
To Be Continued…….
Chosha's Notes
Hey Adepts! Well, here is the first official chapter. It took me ages. I didn't think it'd take quite this long. As you may have noticed with some of the things spoken I amalgamated what replies are given to both yes and no replies about the assigning of a leader. Anyway, that done, next chapter we finally get to Sol Sanctum, where there is fewer lines that are in game. Hm….I wonder if I can pull that off without pulling anyone too out of character…..
Anyway, thank you to Mr Martin, fegs2fan and Ceylon205 who reviewed last time. I hope this chapter has lived up to your expectation.
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I love reviews!
Next time on Tales of Weyard: Golden Sun: Isaac and the gang head to Sol Sanctum for the first time. What will they find inside. Were Saturos and Menardi really correct in what they told Kraden? And will they accidentally set off the same traps? Next chapter: Mysteries of Sol Sanctum.
Until then,
May your roots dig deep and your branches reach high,
Chosha Kurenai xXx