Golden Sun: Age of Light
By: Mokona-Midoki
Chapter Three
Thank you BubblefoxEmpressVicky, and Argret Aria for the reviews! Everybody else who enjoyed it, please review. I'd really like to know what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. However, almost all the characters in this story are original. Thor, Atalanta, Flora, Eclipse, Procne, Catastrophe, and Megaera belong to Golden Sun. NoaEllora, Zephyr, Ivira, etc. belong to me.
"Noa la Solana de Anila, why have you called us here?"
Noa couldn't speak. In all honesty, she hadn't even expected anything like this to happen. At the very most, she had thought maybe a spirit of Jupiter would come and tell her to stop annoying the gods, as they had far more important things to do than listen to a young girl's prayers. Never had she thought that the gods would actually appear. And not just one, but all of them.
"I ask you again, Noa la Solana de Anila. Why have you called us here?" The one who spoke had to be Thor. He looked like a middle-aged man with a great blonde beard. He carried his huge war hammer across his back, and lightning seemed to crackle around him.
Noa knew she had to say something. "Be-because, I have-" She fell silent not knowing what to say.
A tall maiden with long green hair, held back by a headdress of wings, and in a white dress that hung loosely from her shoulders spoke. "Father, calm yourself. She is but a child." The heavenly huntress, Atalanta, turned her face towards Noa. "Child of Anemos, why do you need to speak with us?"
Noa swallowed hard, and then said, "I have a question to ask you."
The maiden next to Atalanta leaned towards her. She was dressed in pink and green, and had shorter purple hair, it too was held back by a headdress of wings. Flora, the wind rider and goddess of flowers smiled gently. "You may ask whatever you wish of us."
The great brown dragon with sky blue eyes, Eclipse, turned them from Noa to Flora. "Do not make promises lightly, Flora. For even us gods may be unable to keep them."
Procne, a huge white bird, spoke then. "However, we must do all in our power to grant the wishes of our children." She turned her eyes upon Noa. "Now, what is your question?"
Noa struggled, wondering where to begin. "Um, my sister, Ellora, is the high priestess of Jupiter."
The goddess to the direct left of Thor sighed. She had short brown hair and wore a blue dress. From her back sprouted a pair of great white wings, and in each hand she held a sword. Megaera, goddess of justice and vengeance. "We already know this."
"Silence Megaera. Let her speak."
Megaera turned to the last figure, and bowed. "Yes, father." Catastrophe stood taller than even Thor, he was covered in steel armor and carried a huge sword and shield. There was a sense of foreboding that seemed to surround him, and Noa felt herself quiver beneath his scrutiny.
"Speak child." Came the command.
"As I said, my sister is the high priestess. A few months ago, she made a prophecy that they lighthouses would be sealed." Noa caught a glance pass between Flora and Atalanta at this. She continued. "Ever since then, I've been having dreams about the destruction of this world." She looked up at the heavenly beings above her. "Are these true? Will this truly come to pass?"
The gods were silent for a moment, then Procne spoke. "Yes, this future will come to pass."
Noa felt a great despair well up inside her, and she hung her head, with a feeling of defeat.
"But only if," The goddess continued. "Only if you let it."
Noa looked back up at her, confused. "What do you mean, only if I let it?"
"It means that it is your destiny to stop this from happening."
"What?"
Catastrophe now spoke. "Your sister's prophecy was true. If the world continues the way it has been, this world will be destroyed."
"But why? Why does this have to happen? Why can't you stop it?"
"Because, this is already beyond our control." Megaera told her.
"You see, Child." Eclipse began. "This has been imminent ever since this world was created, and we became the gods of it. The power that alchemy offers to man is an intoxicating thing. While many people, such as you, use this power to help and assist others, some humans will use it for their own personal gain."
"But then, does that mean, that someone is trying to…gain power?"
"On the continent of Angara, there is a mountain. It is called Mt. Aleph. It is where the four beacons lights meet. When these four lights meet, a stone is formed. It is called the Stone of Sages. It has immense power."
"What kind of power?"
"Power that should be left to the gods. Power that should never fall into human hands. They power to destroy, the power to heal, the power to bring back the dead. If a human was able to obtain this stone, then the damage would be enough to destroy Weyard."
"But why hasn't someone obtained this stone before?"
"At the base of Mt. Aleph is a village, called Vale. The people of Vale guard the stone, and the sanctuary which rests at the top of the mountain."
Noa took all the information in, trying to absorb it. "So what you're saying is, is that someone is planning on stealing the Stone of Sages?"
"Yes."
"But I don't understand! Why can't you just find this person, and punish them?"
"Because, we gods cannot interact in the choices of humans. If this person chooses to do this, we cannot stop them."
"Well, then tell me where they are! I'll find them and stop them!"
"Even if you stopped this one person, there would be others who would try to obtain it in the future. Others who you would be powerless to stop."
"But then, why must the Lighthouses be sealed?"
"The Stone of Sages is directly linked to the Lighthouses. If the Lighthouses are sealed, then the stone will disappear until the Lighthouses are relit."
"But if the Lighthouses are sealed, won't alchemy disappear from the world?"
"No, not entirely. It will be greatly weakened, and people will not be able to do things as great as they can now. But it will still be there."
Noa looked down, only one more question in her mind. "But…why me? Why choose me to do this? I, I mean…I've never seen the future until now, my powers have never been all that strong, Ellora or Ivira, or Zephyr would be better for this task."
Thor answered her question, his voice like rumbling thunder. "We never chose you. You were chosen before you were born. This is not merely a task given to you, this is your destiny."
She was silent, contemplating all they had told here. Then, "What must I do?"
"You must travel to Vale, and ascend to the Sol Sanctum at the top of Mt. Aleph. There you will meet someone who will help you with your quest."
"But how will I know the way?"
Atalanta stepped forward. "Do not worry, If you are ever in need, call any of our names, and we will come to your aid. And here." She held out her hand. There in her pale hand lay Noa's amulet. "You should not sacrifice your amulet lightly."
Her finger's trembling, Noa reached out and took her necklace. "Thank you."
"Do not fear, Child of Anemos. You hold a far greater power than you know."
She stepped back to join the other gods. "Remember, we will always be with you." There was a roaring wind, and Noa covered her ears. When she looked back up, only Megaera remained.
"Get up."
"What?"
"I can't stand it when people kneel before me." The goddess explained. "Get up."
Noa quickly stood, dusting off her knees.
"You're probably wondering while I'm still here."
"Well, um, yes."
Megaera sighed. "Well, truth be told, a lot of destiny is riding on you right now. And personally, I don't think you look like much."
"Oh."
"So to make sure you don't mess up to bad, here. This is for you." She tossed Noa a long object wrapped in white cloth, which Noa caught clumsily. "Learn how to use it."
"But, what is it?"
"You'll figure it out." She turned away and strode towards the beacon. "I guess I'll see you later." With that she stepped into the beacon. With a flash of light, she disappeared.
Noa stood there for a moment, a bit confused by the goddess's unconventional behavior. Then she turned around and walked back towards the stairs. When she went down them, she found Zephyr sitting up against the wall. He looked up at her.
"Well? How'd it go?"
"I prayed, and they all came." She told him, still a bit dazed.
"They all came?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh."
He pointed at the object that Megaera had given her. "So, what's that?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure. She didn't say."
"Who didn't say?"
"Megaera."
"So, are you going to open it?"
Noa looked down. "I guess so." She found the end of the cloth, and began to unwrap it. They could tell what it was as soon as the cloth had begun to come off. It was a sword. The sheath was plain brown leather that had designs of curling lines and waves covering it. The hilt was wrapped in plain wire, and the pommel stone was a deep purple stone whose color seemed to shift when she stared into it.
"Are you going to draw it?"
Noa took the hilt, the feeling strange. Slowly she began to draw the blade, until it was fully out of the sheath. As soon as it was out of the sheath it changed. No longer was the hilt simple wire, but instead had changed to white-blue sylph, the cross-guard was a pair of spreading wings, and the blade itself shone silver in the light of the sun. Noa looked at Zephyr, startled. "What happened?"
Zephyr was looking at the sword, intently, as if trying to figure something out. "It seems that the goddess has given you a magic sword."
"A magic sword?"
"Well, there's obviously some spell cast on it, to make it look quite ordinary until you take it out of its sheath." He paused for a moment, considering something then. "Noa, may I hold it?"
"Of course." She held out the hilt to him, which he took. As soon as Noa removed her hand from the sword, Zephyr's arm dropped, and the sword hit the ground.
He smiled grimly as he tried to lift the sword, to no avail. "Just like I thought. You've definitely got a magic sword, Noa. Here, take it back. I can't hold it up for much longer."
Noa quickly took the hilt from Zephyr, and once again, lifted it like it had no weight at all. She sheathed it, and offered her hand to Zephyr, who took it, and she quickly pulled him to his feet.
"I'll bet you're the only one who can draw it from its sheath, as well as being the only one who can lift it once it's out of its sheath." He nodded at the sword. "You've been given a great gift, Noa. But what's it for?"
She was silent, not wanting to say it. "It's for my journey."
"Your journey?"
Noa nodded. "Yes. I'm going to Angara."
He looked at her, surprised. "Angara? Why there?"
"I'm supposed to go to a mountain called Mt. Aleph. There will be someone who will help me with my quest."
"And what exactly is your quest?" Zephyr asked her.
Noa knew she couldn't tell him. She knew she couldn't tell anyone. If anybody knew what she was planning, what she had to do, she would be stopped. They would throw her in prison without a second thought, and the world would be destroyed. And if there was one thing Noa would never allow, it was to let the world end the way it had in her dream. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Noa?"
"Let's just get down. They'll be looking for us back in Anemos soon."
"Noa, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Zephyr. Let's just go home."
He sighed. "Alright. C'mon, this way." He led her away from the door.
She followed. "Where are we going? Isn't the door that way?"
"We're not going that way. It'd be awfully strange if you came back with a sword, now wouldn't it?"
"I suppose so."
He led her over to a series of floating platforms. Stepping carefully, they crossed over to a larger platform that was made of the same material as the lighthouse. As soon as they had stepped into the middle of the platform, it began to move downwards at a steady rate, until finally they reached the bottom of the lighthouse.
Footnotes:
Chapter three! The gods of wind are introduced! So exciting! Anyway, all Golden Sun fans out there should recognize them as the summons from the game. They get an upgrade in the story and get to be the gods. Anyway, Noa's quest is introduced, AND she gets a magic sword! Because there has to be some sort of magical artifact in a big quest, right?
The Gods of Jupiter: Okay, so technically, no, Flora and Atalanta are not the daughters of Thor. Neither is Megaera the daughter of Catastrophe. BUT in the game, they never specify anything about the gods, besides what they are gods of. And in mythology, the head gods are usually the parents of some of the lesser gods, so I decided to take them and portray them my way.
Megaera-Yay! We get to have a very un-godlike goddess. For all those of you who were expecting all the gods to be mysterious and mystical, sorry. Because Megaera is the goddess of vengeance and justice she gets to have a temper, and I don't know why, but I see her as a person who, despite being a god, gets easily angry with people, and doesn't have a whole lot of faith in a person like Noa. So I got to mess with her and make her the most human of the gods. I had fun with this. And since she will be showing up in the future, I developed her character more than the others. If any of you dislike this portrayal of her, sorry but it's my story.
Noa's Sword-I took creative liberty on this and gave her a magic sword. So far, she's the only one who can draw it or use it. More properties of her sword will be revealed later on. For right now, it's pretty and just that. (Noa has had basic weapons training, but she's not a master or anything.)