Alaia Skyhawk: I have to say 'poor Yasin' for this one... He's gonna get one HELL of a headache...
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I don't own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue me. I do however own Krishka, Dallinius (Dalli), Aluran, the Alurannai and any OCs, except Sanaro and Annule, who belong to Mr Who 2123, Mika and Fiuras, who belong to WingedWithFireyMana, and Gaea Silverleaf, who belongs to Sparkling Moon Phoenix, so please don't steal them...
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Chapter 7: Alliance of Trust
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The soft breathing of two people was the only sound in the chamber, one of those a young boy cradled in the protective embrace of the adult man who held him. Both had succumbed to sleep after that initial meeting between them, and both had slumbered now for quite some time.
Yellow eyes outlined in purple regarded the pair curiously, the black cat-like Centurion of Darkness not sure what to make of this 'adult' who he could clearly sense was barely a week of age.
"How peculiar..."
Still curious, the Centurion edged closer and closer, itching with excess energy now that all he had to do with the mana levels was fine-tune them in his home territory. All of the Centurions were now as full of energy as he was, but they had remained in their regions... He however definitely took after the creature he resembled, lacking in experience as he was.
Elegant black nose now inches from the man's hair, the Centurion began to sniff, baffled by this creature he'd never seen the like of in his short existence. He looked a lot like a human, but wasn't one. He was almost as attuned to mana as a monster, but wasn't one of those either. Just what was he?
The Centurion inched closer, nose now touching the man's hair, that slight brush and the intrusion enough to trigger an instinctive response the hapless Centurion had no idea the man was capable of.
Yasin's amber eyes snapped open, flicking sharply to look back over his shoulder as a focused blast of mana was flung out from him. The poor Centurion was flung backwards, skidding to a stop to stare in abject shock as the treatment he'd just received.
"Who and what are you? What are you doing in here?"
Yasin's voice held a deadly edge that belied his youth. He was an adult Alurannai with a child to protect, and that meant if anything tried to harm the boy in his arms then whatever it was had best run for its life. Meanwhile the boy on his lap, jolted awake by the mana strike, turned his head to look at what his protector was shouting at before blinking in surprise.
"Tenebrae? What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be outside fixing the mana?"
The Centurion, Tenebrae, tilted his head.
"It is fixed. The monsters across the world now have the mana levels in hand... So we Centurions have nothing to do now except keep an eye on them." He then slicked his ears back, a little uncertain. "Um... Lord Ratatosk... Who is that man holding you?"
"Huh?" Ratatosk stared at his servant, before glancing at Yasin and back again. "This is Yasin; Mother sent him to watch over me and help me. He's a member of the new race Mother just created, the Alurannai... They and the Sentinels are what's spreading the Mana out for me now, so that you, the others, and the monsters can do the rest... Yasin, this is Tenebrae, one of my eight Centurions. They balance the mana for me, so I can concentrate on keeping this door closed."
The Alurannai man relaxed, taking a deep breath before frowning. His eyes went distant for a moment, before he began to murmur.
"The eight Centurions; Tenebrae, Lumen, Aqua, Tonitrus, Ventus, Solem, Ignus, and Glacius. One for each of the eight base magical elements, each with monsters of their type who collectively control the mana levels preventing them from rising too high."
Both Tenebrae and Ratatosk blinked, the former actually gawking.
"How did you know all that? A moment ago you didn't even know what a Centurion was!"
Yasin shook his head, confused.
"I... I just felt the knowledge rise up from somewhere in my mind... I think the Tree gave me more than I thought, it's just I'll only remember parts when I need to."
A black tail twitched, Tenebrae clearly baffled.
"But why would the Tree do it that way? What if you need to know something but don't remember it in time?"
"Tenebrae is right." Ratatosk looked up into Yasin's eyes, as the man looked down at him uncertain. The boy just smiled. "The Tree is my mother, so I can help you remember now everything the Tree has put in your mind for you to use."
He began to reach up with a hand, Yasin leaning back a little away from it as some gut feeling told him this might not be the best idea.
"I'm not so sure this is right, Ratatosk. Maybe I should just wait a while and..."
"It's fine, I know what I'm doing."
The Spirit touched his protector's forehead, a tiny spark of mana passing between the two... An instant later Ratatosk tumbled to the floor as Yasin lurched to his feet clutching his head, moaning in pain at the impact the released knowledge had had on his mind... Everything the Tree knew, about all the world, all the technology of the elves... The Tree had placed all of it inside Yasin's mind with the intent that it surface bit by bit, but Ratatosk had just removed the filter that held back was unnecessary for him to know at present.
Watching as Yasin continued to groan, Tenebrae lowered his head nervously and slunk to the Spirit's side.
"Um, I think that might have been the reason..."
Eyes wide in horrified realisation that he'd just hurt his 'father', Ratatosk got up and rushed over to Yasin, his voice frantic.
"Father? Father, are you ok? It's ok, isn't it? You'll be alright?"
Yasin opened his eyes, eyes now holding a light of knowledge they should not have had for several hundred years, and nodded hesitantly.
"Yes, I'll be alright once I've gotten used to all this... I wasn't supposed to learn so much so quick, so it hurts to have so much tumbling around my mind." He swallowed hard, wincing as his head continued to pound. "I know everything, Ratatosk. Everything the Tree knew at the time it created me, I know too." His expression became distant, and slightly fearful. "It didn't give a lot of this knowledge to the other Alurannai though, because they mustn't know about you and the Centurions... I also understand now why the Tree told me it was sorry."
He dropped to his knees, his bleak expression causing Ratatosk to reach out in concern.
"What do you mean?"
Yasin's tormented expression was almost answer enough.
"I don't age... I'll stay exactly as I am for all of eternity, and because I'm bonded to the Tree I can never end my existence without hurting it, something I would never do. Even once you're all grown up and don't need me anymore, I'm trapped; forced to keep living on forever."
The boy gasped.
"Wait, you're Bonded to the Tree?" Yasin nodded, Ratatosk putting his arms around his adoptive parent and whispering fiercely. "Then I'll never stop needing you... If all the Alurannai I can now sense are Bonded to the Tree, those Bonds will make it grow a lot quicker than it would have with just my Bond. That means I'll grow up fast too... If you're not just to watch over me while I'm growing up, which won't take long now, then the Tree must want you to keep helping me even after that." Still hugging Yasin tightly, he then used a tendril of his power to send the man to sleep. "You're meant to watch over me, but I'll also watch over you when you need me to."
He lay Yasin down, Tenebrae coming to his side and murmuring.
"How long will you keep him asleep?"
The Spirit bit his lip, guilt for what he'd unintentionally done visible in his red eyes.
"Until I'm sure all that knowledge has settled in his mind. When I let him wake up, his head won't hurt anymore."
The Centurion sighed, his tail twitching.
"In that case I will return to my lands. Rest easy, Lord Ratatosk, the mana levels are now secure."
In a cloud of shadow he vanished, leaving the child Spirit alone to his thoughts. Looking down at the man whose 'childhood' had now been as surely shattered as his own, Ratatosk closed his eyes and reached out to the Tree.
Mother, Yasin is here and the Sentinels have worked. I'm fine now.
The wait was almost unbearable, as the Tree read from his mind what had occurred before making its reply.
Then I can rest easy some of the guilt I feel for creating a Race purely for such a purpose. In creating them I have effectively crafted the Alurannai to feed my strength and spare yours. Their Bonds now bolster my spirit, and protect me from the hazards of this world's seasons. With the Sentinels they are planting and linking together, your Centurions and the Monsters will need no further help from you to maintain the mana levels... You are free to look solely after the Door, Ratatosk... and soon, once you are grown and your strength matured, you will be powerful enough to hold the Door from anywhere in the world.
Ratatosk's eyes went wide, a hint of his more innocent self showing in that moment of hope.
You mean I can come out of this place someday? Out into the sunlight?
Yes, my child, you will... and Yasin will be at your side when you do.
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Alaia Skyhawk: Ok, I'm gonna try and make the chapters between 2-3k long from here on out. With dialogue to use rather than blocks of narrative, it will be easy to make them longer.