Wings of Anemos

by HyrulianJedi

Generations ago, the Kings of Anemos took their people and fled the world, becoming little more than a myth. When myths come alive, however, Weyard's most recent heroes find themselves struggling to balance their own issues in this new world against the future of Weyard itself, learning the price some must pay to be heroes.

7. The Greater Good

Golden Sun: Wings of Anemos

Chapter 7 – The Greater Good

- \/\/ -

Jaws snapped shut where Ivan had been only moments before, saliva spraying all over him as the mouth reopened in a terrifying roar. The monster strained its neck out, but with the body commandeered by the remaining two heads, the boy remained mere feet away from those rows of razor teeth.

"Don't be so close, Ivan!" Jenna shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Garet moved in, swinging his enormous blade at the draconian head, but it withdrew quickly, one of the other heads moving its focus from Felix to Garet. Both heads reared back, opening their mouths as Mars Psynergy pooled from the lighthouse beneath them, drawn in by the dragon.

As both mouths simultaneously released brilliant red breams of pure Mars energy, Isaac slid to a stop beside Garet, raising his sword. The beams smashed into the stone of the lighthouse as it instantly shifted up, a horrible cracking sound echoing across the aerie.

"Felix, Piers, watch out!" Ivan shouted as the dragon turned all three heads towards the two men opposite them, but when the heads continued past them, he realized he had misread the dragon's intent. Its tail smashed into Isaac's stone barrier, the bone tip whipped into it like a steel flail. Stones, swords, and bodies flew across the aerie, thankfully sliding to a halt before dropping off the edge.

As Mia practically flew to their two friends, Ivan saw Piers raise his hand as ice formed around the hard head of the tail. The dragon stumbled in its turn, off-balance from the sudden weight change, and Ivan saw one of its massive claws flail out and catch Sheba as she tried to back away. The girl collapsed to the ground, still moving, but now in the path of the enormous dragon as it tried to move forward to regain balance.

Wasting no time, Ivan dashed forward, pointing along the ground furiously to Piers. The man understood and the stones in Ivan's path glistened, then shimmered as a thin layer of ice covered them. Taking an enormous leap and propelling himself faster with a backward burst of wind, Ivan landed on the ice on his knees in a fast slide.

As he passed beneath the dragon's massive body, he leaned back as far as he could, raising his sword to trail the thin tip along the dragon's scales. Purple lightning sparked along the blade, then transferred directly to the relatively unprotected stomach above. All three mouths opened at once, roaring out in pain, but the powerful burst of lightning seized it momentarily. Ivan strained to hold it as Felix helped Sheba back to her feet and out of the way, but as he passed back out from underneath the dragon, the contact broke.

Instantly the dragon's movement returned, but in its attempts to force freedom, the sudden movement sent it sprawling further than it likely expected. After three great, crashing steps, the edge of the aerie arrived and the darkness beyond swallowed the dragon whole.

Ivan sighed from his position on the ground, leaning back, until the sound of rushing air made him leap back to his feet.

The sound of flapping wings.

- \/\/ -

"But if you so insist, Hydros, I suppose I can entertain you in this. You seem to be the last of Weyard's kings, so I imagine our history books will enjoy a chapter about the King of the Mists' defeat at the hands of the Luminous King."

As Mia watched incredulously, the palace's streams, normally flowing through either side of the entrance hall, snapped out suddenly, reaching for Clotho with great, rippling fingers. The Anemian made no motion save spreading his hands to the side, as if unwilling to fight back, keeping his eyes locked with Hydros. The furious rapids pounded towards him, then suddenly curved to his sides, pooling in the air beside him and forming a pair of growing globes.

Clotho smiled at him, but Hydros gave the man no response. Instead, a sharp cracking filled the air as the streams suddenly solidified, turning into bars of ice. At their ends, the spherical pools simultaneously burst and froze, transforming into shimmering, multi-pointed stars, but Clotho had not remained between them to be impaled by the icy spikes.

Dashing towards Hydros, he extended his hands to his sides and ran them across the ice, generating an incredibly high-pitched whistle as he moved. Mia scrunched up her face in irritation at the almost undetectable sound, but her eyes widened once more when the ice suddenly shattered, a ripple of frozen shards moving faster than Clotho.

Before the Anemian could reach the Lemurian, though, Hydros suddenly vanished, the bars of shattered ice falling to the ground and instantly melting again while the stars teetered precariously on their slender spikes. Clotho turned his feet sideways, sliding on the wet floor until he stopped, not so much as glancing at any of them on or around the stairs, but turning back around immediately.

Hydros and he had switched positions, the King of the Mists now standing in the doorway – a warp, Mia realized. He flicked his arms out and streams of water reconnected to the frozen crystals, tendrils of water wrapping around them. With a snap of his arm, the ice pulled back as if tethered to a great flail, then slammed forward, sending splintered ice everywhere.

Clotho sidestepped the great chunk of ice, ignoring the ice fragments, then reached out and shoved his hand into the whip of water that held it. A loud noise cracked through the air as his hand suddenly flashed purple, lightning streaming from his fingers. Mia's eyes widened immediately – Ivan had shown her the way water spread the effect of lightning to anyone touching it. Her expression, as well as Clotho's, quickly turned to one of confusion, though, as the lightning did nothing more than burst through the water and crash into the wall.

The water around his hand suddenly froze again, ensnaring it as Hydros pulled back his other arm, then sent the second chunk of ice flying at Clotho. For one wild moment, Mia thought the Anemian would be crushed between the two great, frozen crystals, but a flash of white light saw him free from his binding, a powerful burst of wind shoving him away. The chunks of ice smashed into each other, but immediately swung apart, Hydros noticing his opponent's evasion.

Both crystals began to fly in perpetual motion, swinging in what appeared to Mia to be a completely wild fashion, though she realized after a moment that the swings were calculated; only one ever lodged itself into the ground at a time, with both usually swinging consecutively. It created a moving wall of ice, a deadly storm that forced Clotho backwards continuously, pushing him towards the stairs once more. Mia looked down, suddenly nervous for Jenna and Garet, but found they had moved towards the hallways.

Clotho, apparently realizing he had quickly run out of room for retreating, turned himself sideways, pulling both hands back. As the Lemurian King swung his Psynergetic flail forward once more, snapping it forward directly at Clotho, the Anemian reached out a single hand as if to catch it. Before it could touch him, though, his hand flashed white. Mia reflexively winced away from the bright light, but immediately looked back, forcing herself to remain watching.

She was rewarded with a sudden, fierce explosion that pelted her with tiny pieces of ice. The white light had obliterated the chunk of ice completely, now traveling forward through the straight run of water. As it moved, the water instantly vaporized, a plume of steam trailing the light as it struck Hydros in the chest.

The old man flew backwards as if thrown by an explosion, spinning out of the palace and down the stairs. Mia heard Isaac call out in alarm, but as Clotho stepped forward through the entrance hall to follow, Hydros vanished again. Clotho stopped suddenly, then turned around to find Hydros standing at the base of the stairs once again, right back where they had started, though the old king's chest bore a great burn mark. His slightly hunched posture told Mia that he felt the blow far more than his expression let on.

Hydros reached out with a tendril of water for his remaining crystal, the spikes now nothing more than stubs, but Clotho's hand snapped out as he did. Another white bolt that did not quite look like lightning snapped out, shattering the chunk with ease and leaving a black scorch mark on the cracked stone tile.

Clotho smiled, then raised his hand to Hydros. At the last second, the Lemurian raised his own, and when the next white bolt should have struck him, his hand seemingly batted it back at its owner. Clotho leaned to the side rather wildly to avoid it, almost losing his balance to let the Psynergy fly out the door and into the sky. Clotho watched it go for a moment, then turned back to Hydros, dashing at the man with one glowing hand pulled back.

Before Mia could so much as blink, though, four new figures suddenly landed in front of Hydros, forcing Clotho to halt his charge prematurely. After a few seconds of watching the Anemian stare at them in confusion, she realized they were actually metal statues, taking up a defensive posture between the two kings. Glancing across, she saw Isaac standing on the other set of stairs, his hand held out. "What's the matter? Your Jupiter Psynergy can't affect metal?" he called down.

Clotho raised an eyebrow, a half-smile emerging on his face as the glow faded from his hand. "Tell me, Venusian, how well do you think you can control and coordinate these statues?"

"Long enough for me to step in." Alex materialized in front of the statues, mere inches away from the Anemian, who stepped back in surprise. "I must say, I'm rather impressed by your manipulation of Jupiter. Vacuums and sound...and light? Most interesting. You've certainly earned the title of Luminous King."

"Oh? And you are...?"

Alex smiled at the man, wagging his finger. "I need not tell you anything, but rest assured, you will find out one day."

Clotho laughed at that, placing his hands on his hips. "Such temerity! You have the boldness of a king, I will grant you that, worm. Shake the earth from your body and I would not be surprised to find wings underneath."

Without so much as a pause, Clotho's hand flew up, lightning arcing from his fingertips. Almost casually, Alex raised his own hand, brushing the bolts aside to one of the statues. A pair of young Lemurians hesitantly looking around the corner of the side hallway, drawn by the sound of commotion, suddenly ducked back.

Alex shook his head. "You certainly have the overconfidence of a king, Lycoris."

"You're strong," Ivan called out, stepping off of the stairs, "but I don't think you can handle all of us."

Clotho's eyes drifted over to the boy briefly, his mouth opening to respond. As his eyes fell on Ivan, however, the words halted on his tongue. Mia saw worry and confusion flicker over her friend's face momentarily as she stepped onto the ground floor as well, then Clotho shook his head. "I see he was successful in passing on our powers to even the commoners... What a shame. I suppose we'll have to perform another cleansing once we've settled."

"A cleansing?" Ivan asked. "What are you talking about?"

Waving his hand negligently, Clotho said, "Oh, you needn't worry yourself. You're be one of the last to go, at any rate. We can wait until the other clans are dealt with before grooming the feathers of our own."

Ivan's face darkened slightly, though Mia could not tell if it was due to Clotho's dismissal of the subject, or simply the continual killing he referred to. As she watched the boy, Garet caught her eye on his other side. He jerked his head to the side slightly, so she looked around the chamber. Though the sun sat high in the sky, the only source of light in the entrance hall came from the open door and two small windows at the ends of the hallways, casting much of the room in shadow. She looked back at Garet and nodded, stepping to the side. Gently reaching out with her Psynergy, she took hold of the moisture in the air and wrapped it around her like a cloak, refracting the dim light in the shadows away from her.

"Why are you doing this?"

Slightly surprised, Mia glanced over as she silently slipped through the shadows, moving slowly to avoid detection. Sheba stood opposite her on Hydros' other side. The girl slowly stepped forward, carefully keeping her eyes on Clotho, who turned to her with a smile. "Doing what, girl? Bringing about an end to the wars that mankind brings upon itself? Sacrificing a few in the present for the greater good of the future?"

"That's not what you're doing!" she shouted, balling her hands into fists. "You're just murdering a bunch of people because they're different from you!"

Clotho stared at her for a few moments in silence, making Mia uneasy as she moved. Sheba did not seem to notice through her anger, as she simply returned the gaze, waiting for a response. "...You're not so different, though, are you?" he said at last. "No, you're no lowborn worm. You've the face of a true Anemian."

Sheba shook her head violently as Clotho confirmed what the girl had long suspected. Mia could see minute droplets scattering as her head swung, though her tossing hair masked them well. "No! I want nothing to do with you! My home is here! My friends are here!"

"Friends..." Clotho snorted. "I've never understood the commoners' fascination with such a relationship." He frowned. "Or are you a commoner? To be a pure-blood Anemian outside of Anemos... I wonder if you're..."

"If I'm what?" Sheba practically snarled, her face nearly glowing with a savage expression of hatred. Mia judged the distance between herself and Clotho, then stepped forward, next to the pool of water.

His mouth split into a wide grin. "How did your friend say it? You'll find out one day, dear child. Soon, mayhap. I'll need to-"

To the onlookers in the room, Mia appeared as suddenly as Alex had, water from the stream splashing up before her. The droplets elongated and became hundreds of tiny, frozen needles, then launched themselves at Clotho.

With an almost casual flicker of his hand, a sharp gust of wind scattered the weightless icicles everywhere, shattering many of them with the force alone. Mia stepped back slowly as Clotho looked at her, matching her steps.

She held his gaze, unworried by his silent threat, until she saw a flash of red behind the Anemian King, accompanied by a great sword, gripped tightly in a pair of hands. In three steps Garet crossed the entrance hall to Clotho, swinging at the man's waist with enough force to wedge the blade halfway through a tree trunk.

Whether Clotho knew of the sneak attack or simply suspected it, Mia had no idea, but either explanation ended with the same result. The Anemian spun to meet Garet, but instead of ducking under the blade or blocking it, Clotho jumped into the air. As he did, great, white, feathered wings unfolded from his back, where Mia had been certain nothing had been before. They flapped once, lifting him high enough to pull his feet over the sword, before landing once more.

Immediately he thrust one hand forward, a blinding flash of light emitting from his palm. To Mia's horror, Garet's body went airborne in the next moment, flying across the hall and crashing into the side wall, before sliding down.

She and Jenna were at his side in a second, bending down to check on him. The man groaned loudly, winced horribly, made a few grunting sounds, and then accepted their help back to his feet. A great scorch mark ringed the rough hole where his clothes had burned away on his chest. His skin had turned a bright red, and after a few test stretches, he discarded his sword.

"Payback time," he muttered, then stepped forward to Clotho, whose wings had vanished once again. Mia shivered suddenly as Garet snap-gathered all the heat around him, then pulled the light itself in a second draw. He raked his glowing hands through the air, as if scraping them across a great flint stone, and an incredible torrent of wild flames spewed forth, enveloping the Anemian.

Or at least, they would have, had he not raised his own hand. Clotho drew the flames in like he had with Hydros' water, funneling them into a tiny point in front of him. As they gathered, so they smothered, leaving a void behind to draw in more flames. In a matter of moments, all of Garet's potent fire had vanished entirely.

Before the flames had fully dispersed, though, his hands were already flying once more, canceling out innumerable blades of pressurized air that flew from Ivan and Sheba. The two alternated their timing, trying to throw the king off-guard, but Clotho held himself strong. Jenna drew her sword and began to pull in some of the leftover energy from Garet's attack, but Clotho suddenly stepped back, towards the entrance.

"You've made your point," he said, holding up his hands. "I'm rather surprised that you're even alive, though," he added, looking at Garet. "Perhaps I've lost some of my skill since we departed."

"Or maybe I'm just that damn good," Garet gasped out.

Clotho frowned. "No, but it makes no difference. I suppose Lemuria shall keep their king for a while longer." He turned towards Hydros, who still stood in front of the fountain. "But rest assured, Your Highness, I will be back for you, and the rest of your kind."

"Who said we're letting you leave?" Jenna said, pointing her blade at the Anemian.

He simply laughed. "Girl, you have no say in that matter. I came prepared for the worst." As a final chuckle echoed through the hall, his body disintegrated into tiny particles and the man vanished.

Jenna let her sword arm drop as the palace fell into silence, before being broken by the sound of Garet vomiting. "Ooo, lunch doesn't look very appetizing any more."

Mia rolled her eyes even as she crouched down, rubbing his back. "Honestly, it never looked that great in the first place, Garet." Sighing as he retched again, she rubbed her own arms while she waited until the sounds to cease, then asked, "How did he teleport so quickly? Did he use a rune to get here, or do you think they have a cure for this?"

Ivan shook his head. "Remember when we got here? He was waiting on the outskirts, out of sight. He'd probably been waiting there for hours so that he could leave if necessary."

"That's good news for us," Alex said, walking over and conjuring a small orb of water for Garet to drink. "It means they're still unable to teleport for at least a couple hours, as well, which means they're also still susceptible to attack immediately after arriving, like- Oh for the gods' sakes, I just fought alongside you, Garet, why would I bother trying to poison you?"

Garet looked up from where he had been warily staring at the water, then returned his gaze to it sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry. Old habits." He placed his mouth to the water bubble and sucked in slowly, then backed up and licked his lips. "It tastes a bit weird."

"Pure water," Alex explained. "There are no trace sediments that are naturally found in spring water, since it was condensed from the air. It also doesn't conduct lightning, as you might have noticed during the fight."

"Or it could be your puke. You okay now?" Ivan asked, crouching next to him.

When Garet nodded, Mia did also, standing back up and walking over to the fountain with Jenna, where Isaac, Hydros, and Sheba still stood, finding the returning warmth very welcoming. "What about you? Are all of you alright?"

Hydros nodded wearily. "I appreciate your assistance here. If I had been alone... Well, I should be thankful I was not. You all have the most fortunate timing I have ever seen."

"We just received Lunpa's letter concerning you and Piers," Isaac said.

"Yes, about that..." Hydros glanced over at Garet, who was being shakily helped to his feet by Ivan and Alex, both of them plainly straining with his weight. "I think it would be better to postpone our discussions for a short while."

Jenna looked at him warily. "How long of a 'short while' are we talking about, exactly?"

Shaking his head, his enormous beard swinging from side to side, he said, "One of your short whiles. I have grown accustomed to years of little to no activity, and grow tired quickly. I imagine some of your number wish to rest, as well." He paused, running a hand through his beard to straighten it. "I assume Felix is attending to Piers?"

Isaac nodded. "He's in Champa now, finding him. They'll both be coming here afterward."

"Good," Hydros said. "Then when they arrive, and you all feel ready, come back and speak with my aide. He will retrieve me." He gestured to one of the Lemurians Mia had seen earlier, who had finally left the refuge of the hallway, then bowed his head to them. "Thank you all, once again. I hope our meeting will be productive."

He turned to walk back upstairs, his aide following closely. As they climbed the stairs, she distinctly heard him say, "I'm afraid you'll need to inform Conservato that our meeting will need to be rescheduled. I doubt he'll be pleased."

Jenna's face split into a wide grin, despite the situation. "Oh, that fart is gonna be pissed."

- \/\/ -

Waves pushed at the side of the ship, gently rocking it to port, then swept underneath the hull, pulling it back to starboard as it glided through the water. Spray leaped up as the ship parted an ocean swell, sending the saltwater splattering onto the deck.

With a wave of Piers' hand, the excess water pulled itself from the deck and drifted over the railing, dropping back to the ocean. The exposed steel on the deck would not last under the typical corrosion of saltwater. For most vessels, this led to a constant scrubbing and scouring of the decks, to prevent salt buildup, but for a Lemurian, such tedious work had long since become unnecessary.

The cleaning complete, Piers glanced ahead once more, then to the sides. Finding nothing but open ocean in all directions, he glanced to his right at the setting sun. He estimated its remaining travel until sunset, then grabbed the tiller, adjusting it slightly.

Satisfied with his course, he reached out mentally and touched the Black Orb beneath the deck, slowing his speed slightly. Once dark fell, such high speeds were never a good idea, especially on approach to Lemuria. They should still be at least a day away, but the fractured land that surrounded the island for miles had shredded many a careless ship. Much safer to ensure a daytime approach.

He touched the Hover Jade next, more out of habit than anything else, simply to verify its response. Feeling the Psynergy amplify and course through the ship's folded wings, he nodded to himself and relaxed it.

He moved back to the barrels and crates just forward of the cabins, opening their tops and looking inside. The rice barrel was still mostly full, but the crate of potatoes and bread had fallen under half. The supply of dried meat seemed to be almost entirely used up by the pirates. His check on the remaining food stores indicated the same – a significant drop in the highest demanded, and also highest priced, foodstuffs. They would likely just need to be refilled in Lemuria.

Lemuria...

He sighed, then made his way back to the cabins, his checks complete. Stepping inside, he quietly shut the door behind him and sat down at the table, picking his book back up.

"Everything set?" Felix asked from the chair across from him.

"We should get there tomorrow, weather permitting," Piers said, frowning. "Felix...should we really be going back?"

Felix glanced up at him from his own book and raised an eyebrow. "That's never a question you should ask about your own home."

Piers looked down. "I know I shouldn't, but...I mean, I am an exile. What if they simply don't let me in?"

"Then I'm sure Hydros will come to you," Felix said seriously. "Why are you so worried about this? The others have already arrived and will have had time to get around any delays."

"What if they weren't allowed in either?"

Felix stared at him. "Can you really imagine them telling Jenna that she can't come in?"

Piers held the gaze for a few moments, then burst out laughing. "No, I suppose I really can't," he said eventually. "I don't mean to be so negative about it, Felix. I just...other than our single night there, I haven't been home in almost a year. And from what I heard, I'll never be allowed to return."

"Trust me, I know how you feel." Felix leaned back in his chair as Piers turned a questioning eye on him. "Oh, that's right, you left before our true homecoming. You missed quite a show."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Was there more to come after your families?"

A wry smile wormed onto Felix's face as he placed his hands behind his head. "You could say that. We returned to Vault, where everyone had evacuated to, and I received a...less than warm welcome."

"Because you originally helped to steal the Stars?"

Felix nodded. "Isaac and Garet were treated pretty coolly, but people believed they had been tricked by me into helping. I, however, was the one who broke into our town's sacred sanctum, aided those responsible for devastating the town years before, stole a dangerous treasure that we had sworn to protect, taken my own sister as a hostage, left two of my friends for dead, and then proceeded to bring about the end of the world."

Piers stared at him for a moment incredulously. "They think all that? Did you explain to them anything?"

Shrugging, Felix said, "We tried. When Kraden tried to tell them about Alchemy's seal, they ran him out while screaming blasphemy. My parents and Kyle were believed to have been confounded or brainwashed by Prox, and everyone thought Jenna was simply trying to cover for me as family."

"They didn't believe Isaac, either?"

Felix chuckled at that. "They still think I manipulated him and Garet into thinking that I was trying to save the world. They said Isaac was naïve enough to trust his old friend, and that Garet would simply follow him." He shook his head. "I never thought I would have found myself defending Garet's sensibility, but that over-simplification made me angry. I may have lost my temper a bit at that point."

"You? Lose your temper?" Piers raised an eyebrow. "A rare sight indeed."

Felix nodded, pulling his canteen up and taking a long drink. "It hurt me in the end, though. When they saw the quiet, calm boy they once knew shouting at them, they realized I had been lost."

"So they exiled you?"

"Ah, not quite," Felix said, smiling. "You see, with Vale destroyed, Valeans no longer have a town to call their own. As such, they have no means of exiling me from anything."

He let the statement hang for a moment before Piers understood, a smile creeping onto his own face. "I doubt they were pleased when you pointed that out."

"Let's just say that, compared to the mayor, I once again looked like a quiet, calm boy."

Piers smiled with Felix in silence for a minute, but the humor began to fade quickly. "Doesn't it bother you, though?" he asked eventually. "That most of the people you knew consider you a traitor?"

Felix shrugged. "Not particularly. The few people I considered my friends in Vale, outside of our group, all believe me. Let the rest believe what they want. I have my family, I have my friends, and now, I have my freedom. I like having full control of my own life, to do with it what I want."

"I suppose that is a good thing," Piers said, looking forward out the window, checking their path again automatically. "I never really minded living only in Lemuria."

"Perhaps not," Felix said, "but now that you've seen so many other places, could you really keep yourself there forever?"

He thought about it for a long moment. Could he? He had already lived there for many, many years without the slightest desire to leave. Though, he realized, he had been raised to think of Lemuria as the entire world. He knew nothing about the world beyond the island, never mind seen any of it. Now that he had seen the shimmering snowfields of Prox, the white beaches of Apojii, the thick jungles of Kimbobo, the soaring cliffs of Champa, could he really restrict himself to a single sight for the remainder of his years?

"No," he said at last. "I suppose I couldn't. I never thought of it before, but I think I would find it...boring." He looked back at Felix hesitantly. "Is it...wrong of me to think that?"

"Not at all," Felix said, shaking his head. "With all the things we've seen, how could you find anything normal exciting again? Besides, at least you have a home to return to someday," he added. "Mine is gone forever."

"But you can still see your friends and family," the Lemurian said. "My only remaining family and few friends are locked into the one place that I am locked out of."

"Would you change your decision, though?"

Piers turned to the side in sync with Felix, finding Hama standing in the doorway from the lower cabins. "I apologize," she said, slightly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but notice our similar situations."

Felix raised an eyebrow at her, but gestured to a chair. Thanking him, she joined them at the table. A silence followed as all three looked at the spirals in the grain of the wood.

"What did you mean?" Piers asked eventually, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm not sure I understand what similar situation you're in."

"It is often said that home is where the heart is," she began, then motioned to Felix. "You have embraced this. You are willing to make your home anywhere, so long as you have your family, your friends, and your freedom. But what if your home has no heart?"

Hama paused, looking down momentarily. "I returned to my home. The home where I watched my baby brother given away because of a prophecy. The home where I watched my mother slowly wither away and die while I could do nothing. The home I willingly left behind to make my own life."

"Why go back, then?" Piers asked. "Were you unhappy where you lived prior?"

Shaking her head, Hama said, "No, but I had to return. I knew I needed to get the Wings of Anemos ready for your arrival. After all I had pushed and worked to get them ready, the people of Contigo had become devoted to me. They named me Quetzalcoatl, a title that has not been used in many years."

"What does Quetzalcoatl mean?" Felix asked. "I've heard you mention it before, and know it essentially stands for the leader of Contigo, but what does the word itself mean?"

"It means 'Feathered Serpent'," Hama said. "As the story goes, it actually began as an insult. When Yegolas betrayed Anemos and doused Jupiter Lighthouse, they left him behind in Contigo, claiming that even though he had the feathers of a bird, he was fit to do no more than slither on the ground."

Felix smiled. "So he took the name and wore it proudly."

Hama nodded. "He passed it on to mean one of Anemian blood, given how few were left. It traditionally goes to one who has displayed power over the wind, of which I was the first in almost a hundred years. People had begun to think such a gift had left the world." The woman shifted in her seat. "I don't mean to complain about it, really. I knew it would happen, and made my choice regardless."

"I did the same," Piers said. "I was granted a miracle before I left Lemuria the first time, and by technicality could not be exiled. The second time, however...I left knowing I might never return. That I would never return."

"But do you regret that decision?" Hama asked.

Piers hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I knew what needed to be done. My own fate mattered little compared to the fate of Weyard itself."

"What about you?" she asked again, turning to Felix. "Do you regret any part of your path?"

He shook his head without hesitation. "Not for any of the choices I knowingly made, no."

She nodded. "None of us do. We did what was needed of us for the greater good of Weyard. We knew the consequences of our actions when we made the decisions. In light of that, is it so wrong to have one of the negative consequences...overturned?"

Piers raised an eyebrow. "Overturned?"

Shrugging, Hama said, "I am not one to ask about the nature of fate. I am a bit...biased about it. However, should such a thing exist, would it be unreasonable to think that it might simply be delivering payment for services rendered?"

"So in reward for saving the world, I would regain what I gave up in the process?"

Felix nodded. "Not out of the realm of possibilities. Remember Mars."

Piers leaned back in his chair again. "I suppose it would be nice to think that our good deeds would be repaid in kind, though I doubt I can commit to that line of thinking."

"Hope for the best," Hama said. "Plan for the worst."

A short silence filled the cabin, though it lacked the intense awkwardness the previous one held. Piers looked around, feeling the gentle sway shift him back and forth slightly, his eyes taking in his familiar surroundings. "I will say, though," he began, "that I would have no qualms in giving up Champa for the remainder of my life."

Raising his own eyebrow, Felix said, "Was the hospitality that bad?"

"Oh, no," Piers said quickly, shaking his head. "No, Briggs and Chaucha were wonderful hosts, helping me in any way I needed. It was just...I don't think I was meant to live in caves. They're so...gloomy."

"The ocean is your true home?" Hama asked.

Piers shook his head again. "No. I enjoy my time on the ocean, and absolutely love the Kailani, but I can never spend very long at sea. I would go mad." He glanced around the cabin again. "Though it is comforting to be back." His eyes then turned on Felix, a grin forming. "And this time, no one needed any...assistance in getting back to the ship."

Felix shot him a quick glare, accompanied by one of the finest scowls Piers had seen recently, including the ones perfected by the sailors of Champa. "I thought we agreed to not mention that again."

"You made that arrangement," Piers said. "I agreed to nothing."

"That wasn't even this tower."

"Close enough."

"Noted, Piers."

- \/\/ -

A gentle noise reached Garet's ears, slowly prodding his mind awake. As he came to, the sound seemed to move closer and closer, until he finally recognized it as some sort of music. His eyelids moved slowly, fighting their way open, revealing a light purple blur. He blinked once, clearing some of the blur, then several more times, eventually realizing that he was looking at a ceiling.

As he propped himself up, a sharp pain shot through his chest. His hand instantly moved to the source as he groaned, finding a swath of bandages wrapped around his torso. Where his fingers touched, a duller pain spread, but he quickly realized the worst pain came from his movement, so he straightened his body out while shifting into a sitting position. His chest still felt hot where it had been burned, a ring of sweat settled around it.

"Still hurt?"

He looked to the side and could make out Mia sitting near the bed. He blinked a few more times and she came into focus, the last of the blur clearing. A closed book rested in her lap, her fingers inside to hold the page. "Yeah, a little. What time is it?"

Mia slid a small piece of paper into her book, then placed it on the desk as she stood up, stepping over to him. She gently placed her hand on his chest and he felt the Psynergy wash over his wound like cool water. The burn was not serious, then – likely only a second-degree. He had suffered the same before, though none quite so large.

When she removed her hand, the heat returned, but the pain had lessened slightly. He shifted himself carefully, sitting up a bit further. "It's a little after noon," she said, eying his bandages. "Are you feeling fine?"

"Yeah," he said absently, rubbing his head. After noon? They'd left Tolbi about this time. Had he slept for an entire day? Though his memory grew faded as it approached the present, he remembered the fight with Clotho, moving into some house afterward, being tended to by Mia, then...

"That little punk," he said suddenly, looking up at Mia. "He put me to sleep again, didn't he?"

She looked back down at him. "Yes, on my orders. King Hydros took one of those light attacks after having cooled it with a significant length of water, and he had one of the worst non-lethal chest burns I've ever seen. I was worried I would look at you and simply find a hole."

Garet frowned, looking away. "I suppose I can let it go, then. You know I hate being under like that, though."

"Yes, well I hate you being so injured like this," Mia snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "If you would stop getting hurt, neither you or I would need to worry about putting you into such a deep sleep." Before he could respond, she stood back and motioned with her hands. "Come on, up. I need to make sure the bandages will hold with you moving."

With an exaggerated sigh, Garet slowly moved his legs, turning his body in such a way to prevent twisting his chest much. "You've seen the king, then?" he asked as he carefully tipped his body onto his feet. "How is he handling it?"

"Not nearly as well as you," Mia said, pursing her lips. She made a circular motion with her hand, so Garet started walking around the room slowly. "That Anemian was right – it probably should have killed you, assuming the two blasts were of similar strength."

Garet shrugged from across the room, then hissed in pain. "Dammit...ah... I don't think so, though. Even if it's from Jupiter, all Mars Adepts are pretty resistant to burns."

Mia frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe. Maybe the king hadn't weakened his as much as I- Oh Garet, don't pick at the bandages!"

His hand stopped mid-scratch as he looked from Mia to it, confused, then slowly lowered it to his side. "Sorry, didn't mean to."

Shaking her head, Mia sat back down in her chair. As she picked her book back up and reopened it, she said, "Your bandages look fine. How do you feel?"

"Other than the pain when I move wrong, fine," Garet said, stretching his arms in various directions cautiously. If he moved slowly, he realized, he could make use of a moderate range of movement. Anything that resulted in taut or folded skin on his chest, though, would have to wait until the burn healed, unless he wanted to make sailors around the world blush.

Once done, he looked around him once again. The entire room seemed to be made of stone, making him think of a dungeon, but the colorful rugs covering most of the floor said otherwise. He could see his own pack against the wall, where someone had apparently left it for him. A bookshelf sat against one wall, but only one shelf held any books. On the rest sat a variety of wooden carvings, some much more detailed than others. At one end of the room a door remained shut, but at the other end, it lay open to the outside. He could see the swirling white and blue of Lemuria's skies, along with the gently rustling branches of a tree. He stared at the tree for a long moment.

"Where are we?" he asked finally, turning away, grabbing a shirt from his pack, and pulling it on slowly.

"Staying with Lunpa, the Righteous Thief." Mia looked up at him, a smile playing on her face. "Apparently, Jenna and Sheba are on rather good terms with him. He stole their attention and they've been talking with him almost non-stop since yesterday. They, in turn, stole Ivan."

Garet nodded slowly. He had heard about Lunpa's residence in Lemuria from Jenna, and while it had surprised him at the time, he realized now that he was becoming harder and harder to surprise with seemingly impossible events. Other things were on his mind, as well. "Is Isaac down there too?"

Mia shook her head. "He left a little earlier this morning, after I took over watching you. I think he might have headed to the library on the other side of the island."

"...He went to a library?" Garet raised an eyebrow. "I'm asking about Isaac, not Ivan."

Frowning, Mia said, "I heard you the first time. He'd mentioned how the library might have useful information on the Anemoi, given how old it is."

"I guess," Garet said slowly, looking at the window thoughtfully. "So...you were taking turns watching over me until I woke up?"

Mia simply made a sound of agreement, not looking up from her book.

"Well, you know, I'm fine now, so-"

"Garet, if you want to leave, I'm not going to bother stopping you." Mia turned her eyes up at him without moving her head. "You don't need to try and create some half-formed excuse for me to leave so you can sneak out the window."

He inhaled sharply, casting an irritated glance at the window, as if it had sold him out. "You're not? Why?"

"Why bother?" she asked, looking back at her book. "I'd rather not see you break an arm sneaking out with that injury."

"Oh." He looked from her, to the door, back at the window, starting to wonder exactly how he would have pulled it off, then back at her again. "Well, uh, thanks." He stepped towards the door and opened it, but as he pulled it shut again behind him, he heard Mia call his name. Poking his head back through the crack, he found her looking up at him with a frown on her face. "What?"

"Please don't pester the locals."

He flashed her a huge grin, which only served to deepen her frown. "Don't worry, I promise I'll leave them alone." He continued to stare at her while backing out, until the closing of the door finally broke their line of sight.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found Jenna, Sheba, Ivan, and a man he assumed to be Lunpa sitting on the floor, all looking up at him. "Garet!" Jenna nearly shouted, a grin spreading over her face. "You're not a cripple!"

"Jenna!" he said, his face mimicking hers. "You're still loud!"

"How are you feeling?" Ivan asked.

He shrugged. "Like some jerk just threw a kettle of boiling water onto me. Not too bad, considering how I heard the king got off."

Sheba grimaced, wringing her hands in her lap. "Yeah, Hydros didn't look good when I went with Mia. She says he'll be fine, but you wouldn't know it from seeing him."

"You should come sit with us," Jenna said, patting the floor next to her. "Lunpa is telling us about his daring break-in to Sol Sanctum."

"I don't know if 'daring' is the right word for sneaking in while the entire town slept," Lunpa said, causing the other three to smile slightly.

Garet hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry, not right now. I'm trying to find Isaac."

The small smile on Ivan's face faded slowly. "He left a while ago. Garet...do you really need him right now?"

Their eyes met for a moment, and Garet realized that all the same concerns he held inside, Ivan shared. The unspoken uncertainty in his plan did nothing to ease them, he realized sourly.

As direct and bold as he tended to be, Garet never liked confrontations with friends. He had seen the disasters a wrong word wrought in arguments, driving wedges between people for weeks, months, or even years.

Sometimes those wrong words came to him, even without any confrontations. He had once accidentally upset Mia so badly that the young woman had been nearly driven to tears and had to leave the campfire. Yet sometimes the right words came, equally as unbidden. After following her, Garet's words had been enough to console her and restore her composure.

But sometimes, words could not heal a wound. They could not always repair the damage done, or in the worst of cases, rebuild a bridge that had burned. He lacked the skill to distinguish what effect his words would always have, usually in times of thick emotion.

The last thing he wanted was to hurt Isaac in that way.

Don't lie to him.

Garet nodded, realizing his path's only alternative was the road of silent acceptance – an unacceptable alternative to him. He needed some kind of resolution. The best he could do would be to keep Felix's advice in mind when the time came. "I do," he said, and Ivan's violet eyes flicked down. Jenna and Sheba looked between the two silently, unsure of what they had just missed.

Turning his gaze to Lunpa, he asked, "Where's the library here?"

Sheba gasped, placing her hands over her mouth and staring at him wide-eyed. Garet made a face at her, forcing her to collapse into a giggle fit, then turned back to Lunpa.

The thief, though holding back a smile at the exchange, made no comment about it. "Take a right when you leave my house, and keep walking until you pass the fountain. Three buildings down on your right will be the library."

"Thanks," Garet said, shooting another dirty look at Sheba, which only caused her to burst into giggles again. Their sound followed him until he shut the front door, stopping for a moment to soak in the sunshine. It felt good on his skin, warming him in a soothing way to contrast the heat from his burn. A slight breeze blew across the island from the ocean, sending some leaves swirling around his feet.

Lunpa's directions and the wind led him all the way to the library, though it looked no different on the outside from any other building around him. The same stones used everywhere else, that light shade of purple that almost seemed white, made up the large building. He paused outside momentarily, but could find nothing that indicated this was not simply someone's house.

He pushed open the door slowly, peering inside carefully to make sure he had the right building. A musty smell rushed out immediately, eager to escape and lose itself in the fresh air. After a short snort and shake of his head, Garet found the odor tolerable and opened the door wider. As expected, inside were bookshelves, crammed tight, along with a lone table and chair in the front, both empty.

Stepping inside and letting the door swing shut behind him, Garet noticed that a thick layer of dust covered the majority of the building. He found himself surprised at the lack of cobwebs, until he remembered that this was an island, and an isolated one at that; it was entirely possible no spiders lived here.

He moved forward slowly, noticing the disturbed trail of dust that moved through the center aisle. He glanced up at the books, but found their spines covered in dust as well, their titles obscured by the sheet of gray. On the sides of the bookshelves, though, the small plaques that described the shelves' contents had been brushed clean.

He glanced back at the floor and realized the trail went all the way to the back of the building, so he followed it, glancing up at the stacks as he walked. He passed by Geography, Politics, Theology, Philosophy, Mathematics, Fiction, and two rows of Science before reaching the final row of History.

As he began to round the corner, he saw a pair of boots upright on the ground, the person in them obviously seated on the floor against the bookshelf. "Isaac," he started, but as he came into full view, he stopped.

Alex looked up at him from the book in his lap. "Not blond enough for that."

Garet stared at him for a moment before the dull pain spreading across his chest informed him that every muscle in his body had tensed. He relaxed them, feeling the pain fade. "Where's Isaac?"

Shrugging, Alex said, "I haven't a clue. He came in some time ago, but when he found me here already, he left."

"What are you doing here?" Garet asked, glancing around as he looked for signs of a fight. He mentally kicked himself a moment later, though. If Alex wanted them gone, he could have done it without need for subtlety. He needed them around for something, no doubt.

"The same thing Isaac came here rather halfheartedly to do, I imagine," Alex said, gesturing to a pile of books next to him. "Gather information on our enemies and how to defeat them."

Garet hesitated, torn between two lines of questioning, then decided on the more important of the two. "Have you found anything out? What sort of army are we facing?"

Alex shook his head. "Most of these books were written in times of peace. Their military might is not discussed much."

"So not much, then."

Shaking his head again, Alex said, "On the contrary, they've helped me glean quite a bit of information about the culture and civilization itself. Understanding a group of people, in more matters than simply military, is essential in overcoming them. Through understanding, I gain insight. Through insight, I can determine their weaknesses and where best to strike in order to halt this war, hopefully without any further bloodshed."

Garet moved to fold his arms across his chest, but a sharp pain quickly reminded him not to try. "I'm not sure how you could do that without defeating them."

Alex pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. After a few seconds, he looked back up and said, "Think of it in terms of the body. If you hurl all of your strength at someone's body, after enough time, they will eventually be killed, right? Sheer bludgeoning will defeat them."

Nodding, Garet said, "But that's not very effective."

"Exactly." Alex set the book aside and stood up. "Instead of attacking with brute force, warriors aim for key points that will end the fight faster, and with less effort." He gestured to Garet's head, throat, and then stomach. "This is especially important with warriors not as strong as their opponents, such as Ivan, who cannot simply overpower another."

"True," Garet said. He had seen Ivan dispatch many a monster by striking critical blows in vital areas.

"But in situations where one is severely outmatched, even more precise attacks become useful," Alex said. He gently touched Garet's temple with one finger, up under his chin, the front of his throat, his wrist, and the area just beneath where his ribs joined his sternum, earning a slight intake of breath from Garet. Alex quickly withdrew his hand. "My apologies. However, you understand my point. You know these locations, as well."

"I do," Garet said. "A single blow to the temple can kill a man. A quick jab to the windpipe or piercing a lung will leave him unable to breathe. A cut to the back of the leg can bleed him out in minutes, or leave him unable to move, depending on where you hit. There's a hundred small places like these."

Alex nodded. "And these are the places I'm searching for, these critical weak points in the Anemian war machine. They could be things like a specific resource, or a select few charismatic individuals. By knowing the how and why about my enemy, I can find ways to disable them efficiently."

"I think I understand," Garet said. "Like how Babi single-handedly defeated Lalivero by kidnapping Sheba."

"Exactly. She was their weak point. By taking her, he brought Lalivero under his control without spilling a single drop of blood."

Garet frowned. "Is that what you're hoping to find, though? Something underhanded like that?"

Sighing, Alex turned away and remained silent for a few seconds. "This is why you were searching for Isaac, isn't it? You disagree with his methods of obtaining entry to Lemuria."

"Of course I do," Garet said. "He tricked them into thinking we were here to help, forcing them to break their own rules."

"But we are here to help, Garet," Alex said, turning back around. "Had we not done that, King Hydros would likely have been killed by King Clotho."

"But he didn't know that."

"He knew there was a sense of urgency, and he acted on it." Alex narrowed his eyes slightly. "He even tried to ease your guilt by simply tricking his way in, instead of forcing it. No harm was dealt, and we were all let in willingly by the guards."

"He lied to them!" Garet nearly shouted. "He lied to get us in here!"

Alex nodded. "Perhaps in the details. But was his reasoning really a lie? The Lemurians were attacked by the Anemoi. We came to try and stop the Anemoi. Isaac told them we had come to help, and needed to speak to the king. He told a white lie in regards to the specific reason, but the intent was the same."

Garet looked away, his hands curling into fists. "But we're supposed to be better than them, not sink to their level. We're supposed to follow the rules."

"In that case, what would you have done, Garet?" Alex asked gently. "Can you think of any way to have sped up our entry without lies or force?"

He had thought about it on the way over, knowing the question would come up with Isaac. "...No."

"Then you should understand that Isaac did what he had to for the greater good," he continued. "Sometimes, there are no right decisions. At some points, there can be no avoiding harming someone. At those times, one simply must try to make the decision that causes the least harm."

The greater good... Thoughts of Mars Lighthouse came to Garet's mind. Isaac had been the only one to see through the Wise One's trick, other than Kraden. He had willingly resolved to kill his own father, knowing that failing to do so would result in Weyard's eventual destruction.

Compared to that, what did a simple lie to some people he had never met mean?

The thought and its implications chilled Garet, but it also cleared his anger. Of all of them, Isaac knew what it meant to make hard decisions. He had not made them out of a false sense of urgency, but a clear view of the overarching plan. Nor was he simply willing to only deal harm to others in the name of the greater good, but also willing to take it on himself.

"You're...right." Garet unclenched his hands, looking down. "He had no choice."

"He did have a choice," Alex corrected. "What you have to remember is what he chose."

Garet nodded. "Yeah. I...thanks, Alex." He looked back up at the Mercury Adept. "Um...are you staying here?"

"Yes. I know my presence creates tension in your group, so I would rather find something useful to occupy my time with alone." He gestured around him in a broad sweep of his arm. "Besides, I will likely never again find myself with such an opportunity to peer into the past. I would like to make as much use of the opportunity as possible."

Garet stepped back slowly. "Okay. Well...see you." He turned around before Alex could respond and walked out the door. It was not until the sun hit him once more that he realized how cold the library had been.