Golden Sun: The Age of Light
By: Mokona-Midoki
Chapter six
Author's Note: Man, I'm awful at updating. You have good reason to be angry at me for taking so long. SORRY! Anyway, as to the questions in the review yes they will be shooting at something, but what you'll have to wait. As far as Ulysses is concerned. The small summary in the game does say that it is a wandering mage, and since you receive the summon in Izumo that's where I said it'd be from. I kinda think Odysseus is a jerk anyways. But that's my opinion.
Disclaimer: Noa, and all other characters are mine. Everything else belongs to the game Golden Sun and whoever created it.
Chapter Six
Noa stood in a long hallway made of white marble. There was only one exit: a golden door at the end of the hall. Seeing no other way out, she began to walk towards the door. Finally reaching it, she grasped the ornate handle and pulled the door open.
"Well it took you long enough." Came a familiar voice.
Noa looked around. To her surprise, the goddess Megaera was sitting on a raised dais to her left.
Seeing her confusion, Megaera rolled her eyes, an expression of annoyance flitting across her exquisite face. "To get here I mean."
"But, where is here?" Noa asked her confused.
"Where do you think?" The goddess countered.
"Am I dreaming?"
Megaera sighed. "Listen, I told you to learn how to use it didn't I?"
"Use it?"
"The sword! I told you to learn how to use the sword! You haven't even unsheathed it since that first time."
"I'm sorry. It's just, I've been…"
Megaera waved her hand. "I don't want excuses. I gave you that sword for a reason. I gave it to you so that you could complete the task required of you by the prophecy. I did not give it to you to leave lying in a trunk in a boat!"
Noa glared. She was tired of this goddess treating her like she was useless. "Look, I've been trying my best to get to Vale, which is where you told me to go! I haven't been able to use it because I haven't had time! I'm trying to do this the fastest way I can. I'm only one girl! If you want this done so bad, then you do it!" She stopped as she suddenly noticed that Megaera had a small smile on her face.
"Huh. Maybe you do have what it takes after all. Learn how to use the sword, Noa. It'll help you out." Megaera jumped down from her perch on the dais. "Now, go back to sleep. You should get ready. Something's coming."
The room wavered, then disappeared.
Noa sat up, looking around, still expecting to see the marble hall around her. She found herself in the small cabin that had been her home for the past week and a half. The ship rocked gently, but she couldn't get back to sleep. Sighing, she swung her legs off the bed, and stood up. She reached for the door handle, but then paused. Glancing at the chest in the corner of the small room, she hesitated, then turning, bent down and undid the latch.
Noa lifted the lid, and gazed at what lay within. On top of the clothes, the money, the map, and everything she had brought lay the sword. It looked plain enough in it's sheath, but Noa knew the truth. Bending down, she picked it up, feeling its weight in her hand. It was impossibly light, it didn't even feel like she held a blade. She drew it out of its sheath, and held it, the blade laying flat across her hands.
The goddess told me to learn how to use it, but what is there to learn? I already know how to use a sword. And what did she mean, something's coming?
Sighing, she took hold of the hilt once again, and tilted it, about to put it back in its sheath. Suddenly she stopped. For a second, she had thought she had seen something on the blade.
Noa tilted it slowly once more. As the light caught the blade, she stopped. There! The light illuminating the blade, she could make out runes that she had not been able to see before. Noa studied them closely, trying to read what they said.
"Wielder of wind's might. Those who read these words, here this name and know. I am Veata."
"Veata?"
Suddenly the pommel stone shone with a bright, purple light. It traveled up the hilt and into the blade until the entire length of the sword was shining. Then a wind seemed to explode out from the blade.
"Wh-what's going on?"
There was a quick laugh. "So you've finally called my name! I've been waiting for this day!" The wind died down. "C'mon, adept. Open your eyes!"
Noa hesitantly opened one eye, and then the other. Floating above in the air of the small cabin, was a girl, maybe about her age. She had long silvery-blue hair and wore a short sleeveless silvery blue tunic with dark blue pants. Her eyes were purple.
"Who are you?"
The girl laughed again. "Didn't you just call my name?"
"Huh?"
"Man, you sure are slow!" The girl reached down with one semi-transparent hand and touched the blade of the sword that Noa held. "My name is Veata. I am the spirit of this sword."
"The spirit of the sword?" Noa asked. "I don't understand."
Veata laughed. "When Lady Megaera created this sword, she made a deal with me as well, and made this sword my home."
"Your home?"
"That is correct."
"What is the deal you made with her?"
"If I serve Megaera and the owner of this sword for five-hundred years, I will be set free, not as a mere spirit, but as one of the great winds."
"Five-hundred years? That's crazy!"
Veata laughed again. "What's five-hundred years to a spirit? Time passes as quickly for me as it does slowly for you. Anyway, discussing boring details of a contract isn't fun. Why did you call me, master?"
Noa looked sheepishly down at the sword. "In all honesty, I didn't know I was calling you. I was just reading the runes on the blade."
"What?" Veata looked closely at her. "Didn't Lady Megaera tell you anything?"
"Um, well, no. She gave me the sword and told me to learn how to use it."
Veata sighed. "Alright then, allow me to explain. Since this sword is my home, whenever you call my name, I will appear to aid you, in or out of battle. Since I am a wind spirit of my own right, I can strengthen your abilities and help you to learn new ones. Any questions?"
Noa shook her head. "No."
"Excellent. Now, adept, what is your name?"
"I'm Noa."
"Thank you for calling my name, Noa."
"You're welcome."
"Captain! Captain! Where are we today?" Lynna's voice came from the rigging.
Qing Yuan answered from where he stood at the tiller. "We're coming up around the tip of Gondowan. In a few days we should be in Naribwe."
"Will we be stopping there for long?" Kenda asked.
Qing Yuan shook his head. "No, we won't be there for more than a day."
Kenda looked off. "I see."
"Kenda, if you want, we can stop by for a few days on the way back." Qing Yuan told her.
"No, that's alright. We should continue on." She told him with a smile.
At that moment, the door to the cabins opened, and Noa came out.
Unlike the days before, she wore her sword, wrapped in its cloth, strapped across her back. She looked around, with a bit of a worried expression on her face, then smoothing out her features closed the door behind her.
"Good morning Noa!" Lynna called out.
Noa smiled. "Good morning to you Lynna."
Troy poked his head out from below decks. "Oi! Qing Yuan!"
"What is it?"
"We're fresh out of most everything."
"Can we make it to Naribwe?"
Troy ducked back down, and called from below. "Maybe. Probably. Most likely. In a best case scenario, yes."
"And in a worst case?"
"No. We'll have to skip about maybe two or three meals."
"Well, that shouldn't be too bad…" He trailed off when he noticed that both Kenda and Troy were looking at him. "Look, glaring isn't going to do anything about it. If you don't want to go hungry, then we'd better hurry up and get to Naribwe."
They both sighed. "Right."
He then directed his attention towards Noa. "Hello, Noa."
She gave a short bow. "Hello Captain."
He motioned to the sword on her back. "I don't think I've ever seen that before."
"Yes well, I don't know why I have it out today…it's just…" She trailed off.
"Just what?"
"I just have this feeling…that's all." There was a pause, then she asked, "So how far off are we from Angara?"
"Well, we're about three days from the Southern Coast of Angara. From there, we'll turn East, and continue along the coast until we reach Ankhol. We'll have to leave you there."
"I see."
He continued on. "If you want to reach Vale, from Ankhol I believe that you'll need to travel north over the mountains. I hear that travelers often travel with caravans in order to reach their destination safely. You could probably just join up with one of them."
"Have you ever been to Vale Qing Yuan?"
He shook his head. "No, never. I've heard many stories about it though."
"Stories? What kind of stories?"
Qing Yuan stared at her, a bit surprised. "Don't tell me you've never heard any of the stories about Vale."
Noa laughed. "Until about a week ago, I didn't even know it existed."
"Well there are many legends surrounding Vale." He began. "They speak of the powerful adepts that live there. But there are certain legends about the mountain that they guard. Mount Aleph. It's considered sacred in many places over the world. It is said that at the top there is a sanctuary of some sort, but I don't know, Noa?"
Noa had gone very still, as she felt something surge through her, like a wind that only she could feel.
"Noa? Noa are you alright?"
"Something…" She whispered. "Something is coming…"
They were suddenly interrupted by Lynna. "Captain!" There was an unusual note of urgency in her voice. "There's a ship approaching off the starboard side!"
Instantly Qing Yuan was on guard. "What? Can you see what kind of ship it is? Has it spotted us?"
Noa, Kenda and Troy all looked up at Lynna.
Lynna, as usual, was up in the rigging, but now she had a spyglass in her hands, looking through it. "I don't think they've spotted us yet, but one minute, I can't see the flag from this angle." She went higher.
"Well?"
Lynna looked down, her pale face even paler than usual. "Captain! It's the Sea Wolf!"
"The Sea Wolf? What's it doing in these waters? It shouldn't be roaming around here."
Noa looked at Kenda. "What's the Sea Wolf?"
"It's a pirate galleon. Its crew is one of the most bloodthirsty in this world. And the captain is the worse."
"The captain? Who's that?"
It was Troy that answered. "Captain Wayde Wolfhound. A cruel and ruthless man. He cares for no one, and will stop at nothing once he has decided upon his target." There was a pause. "If we are caught by this man…" Troy trailed off.
"If we are caught by this man, there is no way we will survive." Qing Yuan finished.
"But, why would he want to catch you?" Noa asked. "I mean, it's not like you could be carrying some fabulous treasure, right?"
All four crew members looked at each other nervously. "Well, that would be true in other circumstances, but…" Lynna trailed off.
"But what?"
"The truth is, we're not exactly on his good side."
"What?"
"About maybe a year ago…we ran into the Sea Wolf when we were trying to acquire…. a …certain item. Captain Wayde wanted this item as well, but we managed to get our hands on it first. As a result we've been on the run from him since." Kenda explained.
Noa looked at them. "But why hasn't he caught up to you in the past year?"
Qing Yuan shook his head. "We don't have the time to be discussing this! Troy, Kenda, Lynna, we're getting out of here, let's go!"
All three members of the crew instantly went about, unfurling this sail, tying down that rope.
Qing Yuan looked down at Noa. "Noa,"
"Yes, captain?"
"You're a Jupiter adept, right?"
She nodded.
"I really hate to ask you this, but could you summon a wind or something? Anything to get us out of here."
"I can do that." She looked at the sails critically. "But you might want to tell Lynna to stand back." Then, placing her hand palm down on the deck, she spoke, "Whirlwind." As she lifted her hand slowly off the deck, a spiraling current of air came up with it, turning faster and faster, until finally, she released it, and it shot upward, hitting the sails, and filling them with air. The ship shot forward at this sudden unexpected wind. Noa held her hands steadily outward, making sure the whirlwind didn't get out of control. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, and saw that they were quickly pulling away from the Sea Wolf.
"Noa!" Qing Yuan called over the noise of her wind. "How long can you keep this up?"
She didn't answer immediately, thinking. "If you really need it, an hour at the most, that's as long as I can safely hold it." Noa told him.
Troy, ever the pessimist, shook his head. "That's not going to be enough, Qing Yuan."
It'll have to be enough." Qing Yuan told him. "Let's go!"
Footnotes:
Chapter six, yay! And we have the reappearance of Megaera! I must say, I do enjoy writing about her, and (gasp!) a band of ruthless cutthroat pirates! Oh no!
Veata: The name of Noa's sword is finally revealed. The full name is la Veata Sabre. (The Wind Saber) Veata means 'wind' in Cambodian. Veata, lives inside the sword. She has ever since Megaera created it. Veata is also an original character. She is not in the game, nor is Noa's sword. (I think I mentioned that before…) Veata is rather like an upgraded djinn (elemental spirit).
Gondowan-Gondowan is the continent directly east of Hesperia and Atteka. It is shaped rather like South America, and the people who live in it are varied. In the north they resemble middle easterners. In the more southern regions they resemble more South American and African people. North Gondowan is also home to the Venus Lighthouse, and Magma Rock, and Lalivero, the town in the game that Sheba comes from.
Angara-The north most continent before you reach the ice fields. It is home to Vale, Sol Sanctum, Mercury Lighthouse, etc. It is also where six of the eight main characters in the games come from. Felix, Jenna, Garet, Issac, Ivan, and Mia all come from Angara. Only Piers and Sheba come from a different continent.
Starboard-The right side of a boat. Port is the left side. Bow is the back, and stern is the front.
Captain Wayde-Give a hand of applause to our first real bad guy! He might or might not show up again after this first encounter. I haven't decided yet. By the way, Wayde means 'cross the water' in English.
Whirlwind-A basic power of Jupiter Adepts is to create whirlwinds which can be used to do a number of things. In this instance, Noa uses it to get them out of a rather sticky situation.
Troy and Qing Yuan-Troy, being the surly kid he is, always calls Qing Yuan by his name and never Captain. Kenda and Lynna always call Qing Yuan 'Captain'.