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.

13. That Which Matters Most

Golden Sun: Wings of Anemos

Chapter 13 – That Which Matters Most

- \/\/ -

Gray filled the world around him, as if the eye of Jupiter had cast its gaze upon everything. Clouds stretched across the sky, blotting out the sun entirely and laying down a thin sheet of drizzling rain. Noise seemed almost as frightened as color, nothing audible over the light patter of the falling water. Somewhere nearby, a woman shouted out in despair, then fell silent.

The crude coffin lay in the center of their crude circle, already sealed shut. Ivan ran his hands over the unmarked wood, finding the grain rough. He traced the outline around one of the black eyes in the wood, smoothed over in its hasty construction.

He looked up, across the circle, meeting Mia's eyes for a brief moment. She made no attempt to hide her tears, to pretend the rain had simply wet her cheeks. The red streaks beneath her eyes gave the truth away regardless, but none of them had lies to tell there. This was a small service for the closest to the deceased, and they had requested a private moment.

What sort of bond can match that forged by a trial, Ivan wondered. Who could claim to be as close to him as they were? He had no family, nor any lifelong friends. Who could compare to those he had traveled with, to those he had risked his life to save the world with?

Piers and Jenna stood together, baring their grief for all to see plainly. Neither dealt with death well, Ivan realized; Piers had seen too little of it, Jenna too much. Isaac stood to their side, alone, hands balled into fists at his side as he stared down at the ground.

Sheba's sobbing had finally softened to sniffles beside Ivan, though the girl's trembling body continued to shake. He reached out and placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and touched the side of his head to hers.

The only two not actively crying stood together. Both the fury and anguish had cleared from Garet's face, leaving him with a uncharacteristically calm look on his face. The expression unnerved Ivan greatly, terrifying him with its potential implications.

Beside him, Felix stepped forward and the sounds of grief fell silent. The rain continued its soft drone all around them, replacing the ringing in their ears that would have filled the hush around them else. He moved slowly towards the coffin, reaching out and laying his hands atop the wood gently, his face eternally masked.

"Thank you for everything, Kraden."

- \/\/ -

"Look, I'm telling you, my equipment can't repel Psynergy of that magnitude," the blacksmith said from his seat on the bed, shrugging helplessly. "I heard about Tolbi. Nothing's stopping that."

Garet rolled his eyes. "And I told you, Sunshine, you don't need to worry about that. Just make it into armor, it'll take care of the rest. No special modifications required."

The man glanced back at the misshapen green and black lump of metal they had dragged in. He sighed, then stood up and walked over to it, moving around it in a circle before kicking it. Apparently satisfied with the 'thump' he received, he crouched down, running his hands over the ore. "What did you do to this?" he asked, gesturing to one of the black marks.

"The previous owner was a bit...difficult to negotiate with," Felix said.

"He didn't want to play nice, so I threw him in lava," Garet added, enjoying the look of surprise and horror that overcame Sunshine's face.

Felix rolled his eyes. "It was a hostile spirit that attacked us, wearing the armor. We were able to salvage that from the pool we threw it in. Can it be worked with?"

Sunshine looked back at the metal, frowning thoughtfully. He rapped his knuckles on it in a few places, then tapped his fingers on it lightly. He continued to stare at it in silence for a few more seconds, then stood up. "It can. I'm not sure if all of it is usable, though. Who will it be fitted to?"

Garet frowned as well. "I...don't know. We haven't really talked about that."

When he glanced over at Felix, though, the man simply shrugged. "I hadn't thought there would be anything to talk about. Whoever gets the armor will need to be skilled with their weapon, since the enemy will be forced to use physical combat." Felix then gestured at Garet. "You're the best swordsman of us all, Garet. The choice was obvious."

"I...what?" Garet said, unable to close his mouth as he stared back at the other man. "You're really letting it go to me?"

Felix smiled wryly. "I might have a lot of objections to the way you handle some things, but your blade will never be among them."

Garet swallowed. "I... Thanks."

"Aww," Sheba called out. "Garet, you look so cute when you blush."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, turning around and folding his arms across his chest. The only person in his new direction was Hama, who he saw holding back a smile in a similar manner to Mia, covering her mouth with her hand. He turned slightly again, facing into the gap between Hama and Piers. "You're obviously seeing the radiant light overflowing from my Psynergy. I simply can't contain this much power."

Isaac scoffed. "With a head that big? Impossible, nothing is too large to fit in there."

Felix shook his head, rubbing at it with his fingertips. "Sunshine. How long do you think it will be? Rough idea."

"Hard to say," the blacksmith said with a shrug, nudging the metal with his foot. "I'll need to see how hard it is to work with before I can really say. I'll need measurements from you, as well," he added, gesturing to Garet. "There's no rush, though. I guarantee it'll be a shorter job than your boat."

Garet cringed and saw Sheba do the same. Felix maintained his composure, opening his mouth in what Garet expected to be a smooth transition to a new topic, but the damage had been done.

"What are you talking about?" Piers said softly. Though his voice had dropped to an even lower volume than normal, it silenced the entire room with its weight.

Felix hesitated only a moment before responding. "It's nothing major, Piers, just a few repairs that need-"

"Where is she?"

The hesitation lasted longer this time, and it only seemed to cement Piers' suspicions further. Felix sighed, then said with resignation, "At the docks. Follow me."

The two men left in silence, though Garet expected that silence would not hold once they reached the docks. Piers maintained composure well, better than any of them, to the point that Garet could not recall ever seeing the man angry. He supposed that if anything could do it, however, the gigantic gash in the Kailani's hull would.

He turned back to find Sunshine examining the metal once more. "Well...do you want to take the measurements now, then?"

"Hmm?" The blacksmith looked up blankly for a second, then shook his head. "Oh! Uh, no, not right now. I want to...go test this."

"He wants to go play with it," his wife called from the hearth, where she stood replacing the random items that stood on the mantlepiece after cleaning it. "You should just leave him be for now. Come back this evening."

Hama bowed deeply to the woman, and then to Sunshine, who took no notice. "Thank you both for your time. We'll do that." She turned around and began ushering the others outside, silently convincing Sheba to stop examining the row of bottles on the table with the gentlest firm grip on her shoulder that Garet had ever seen.

Stepping back out into the afternoon sun, Garet stretched his arms behind him until he earned a sharp crack from each shoulder. Ignoring the look of disgust from Sheba, he glanced out over Yallam. Despite his vantage point from the hilltop where Sunshine lived, he saw no sign of Felix and Piers. Not surprising, he realized. Piers would not have agreed to anything less than a speed just shy of running.

"So," he said, clapping his hands together and turning to Isaac. "We've got some time, and you've got something to show us."

Isaac looked down, rubbing his boot in the dirt. "Is it really that big a deal? It's just a sword."

Garet's mouth fell open. "Just a... Isaac!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "This sword is legendary! It was hidden beneath Mars Lighthouse, in the middle of the northern wastelands, surrounded by an enormous pool of lava!"

"Magma," Hama said simply. "Magma above ground, lava beneath it."

"Technicalities," Garet said, waving a hand. "The point remains. This sword has been lost for a thousand years, or more. You have to show it to me."

Sheba giggled, shaking her head. "You and your swords, Garet. You're obsessed."

"I must admit," Hama said slowly, "I am curious to see the blade as well. Piers said it defied description."

Isaac stared at her for a few moments, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true. It's at the inn right now."

"Well, it's certainly not getting any closer to us," Garet said, mimicking Hama's previous ushering motions. "Let's go!"

When they reached the inn, Garet threw open the door without stopping and nearly bowled over the innkeeper's wife in the process. The woman hopped back as Garet stumbled, trying to stop, but failing.

"Er, sorry Dorothy," Garet muttered, looking down. "Was in a bit of a rush."

"I can see that," the woman said, placing her hand on her chest. "You almost rushed me right into my grave."

"We'll keep him a bit more restrained," Hama said as she walked inside, placing a hand firmly on Garet's shoulder.

Dorothy turned to Hama and shook her head. "Boys will be boys, I suppose. We're starting dinner now, so it should be ready in about an hour. Six of you, right?"

Hama nodded. "I appreciate the rooms on such short notice."

The woman waved it off as she began walking towards the kitchen. "Not like anyone really ever stays here. It's nice to have some new company."

Garet looked at Hama, then to the door to their room, then back to Hama. "Um..."

Her hand lifted from his shoulder. "Yes, Garet, we can go now. Slowly."

"Yes, ma'am." He forced himself to walk over and open the door, stepping inside and letting everyone else in before shutting it behind them.

Isaac knelt down beside his bed, dragging a cloth-wrapped object out that almost would not fit beneath it. He glanced back up and said, "There was no sheath, and I haven't had the time to get one made yet, so I don't really have a way to carry it."

"I can rig up some sort of back harness," Garet said distractedly, his eyes fixed on the light brown wrapping. "Go on, open it."

Smiling, Isaac reached out tantalizingly slowly and peeled back the cloth, revealing the glittering steel beneath. Garet's jaw dropped first at the immense size of the blade itself – it had to be over five feet. Along the hand-guard, the blade ran nearly a foot wide, thinning out as it moved up to the dangerously sharp point at the end. The hilt itself seemed to be wrought in gold, with an enormous gem set into the center of the hand-guard. It glittered and sparkled white in the center, fading to yellow at the edges, reminding him of the sun.

The blade had a yellow sheen to it, yet not the gentle glow that concentrated Venus Psynergy tended to take. The sword itself seemed to have been glossed in the same golden color that comprised the hilt, making the weapon appear more like a decoration than a blade of legend. Yet Garet could not deny the edge its worth; even after all these years, it still looked as if it could shear through him with ease.

Garet's mouth closed and opened again several times, but he could not find the words to adequately express his amazement. Not coherently, at least. Several profanities littered the front of his mind, each seeming as useful and useless as the last.

Hama found her voice first. "Piers did not lie," she murmured softly, reaching a hand out to hover above the golden blade. "I can feel the devastating power sleeping within."

"It's so pretty," Sheba whispered, as if noise might make the sword vanish.

Much to their combined disappointment, Isaac threw the cloth back over the weapon, the glamour vanishing all at once. Garet sat back on his haunches, continuing to stare at the cloth wrapping. After a minute of silence, he looked up and asked, "Have you figured out how to use it yet?"

Isaac shook his head. "I tried feeding it some Psynergy yesterday, just to see how it responded, but nothing happened."

"It's still an amazing blade, even without any Armageddon-bringing," Garet said. "I've got no idea what metal it's made from, but it looks like it lasts forever."

Isaac shook his head. "I'd never be able to actually fight with it. It's too large for me. You probably could, though."

Garet glanced back down at the covered blade thoughtfully for a few seconds, then shook his head as well. "Nah. That just seems like a waste. I'll try and help you figure out how it works, though. Maybe it amplifies Psynergy, like your sword?"

Shrugging, Isaac said, "Not sure. If it does, I don't think I can use it, then." Reaching out, he pushed it back under the bed, letting the blanket drape over the edge like a curtain. "Well...now what?"

Garet frowned. Sunshine would not be ready for him for several hours, most likely, and even then, the armor would take several days to be forged. Likewise, the Kailani would need at least that time for repairs. He doubted they would be going anywhere anytime soon, so he stood up and held his hand out to Sheba. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Downstairs," he said. "We're the only ones staying here, and we've got a big group. Let's go see if they need help with dinner. We can get you some more practice in."

- \/\/ -

They stood in silence on the beach for a long time, until the sun had reached the tips of the mountains to the west, threatening to cast everything in shadow within the next hour. Until the tide had pulled back out, leaving a slew of clams in its wake that waited for the waves to bring them back, one by one. Until the workers who had come to inspect the ship and make plans for repairs had gone home to their families, prepared to continue on the next day.

Only once they stood alone did Piers speak. "We...have different ideas of what constitutes something 'major,' Felix."

Felix sighed and turned to him. "Piers, I'm-"

The man cut him off with a shake of his head. "Don't apologize. I would never have expected such a formation either, not in the middle of the ocean. I've never heard of such a thing."

"Still," he said, "I should have noticed it earlier. I wasn't paying attention."

"And I should never have allowed Virote to steal her," Piers said flatly, crossing his arms. "We all make mistakes. We'll use this to balance the debt I owe you for freeing me from Champa."

Felix glanced over at him for a moment, then smiled. "Deal," he said.

Piers turned back to the ship, staring at the terrible wound in her side. In the dim lighting, he could no longer see into the hull, to the shattered timbers and stone chamber inside. Now only blackness stared back at him from the hole, a silent, painful cry that only he could hear.

Slowly he walked forward across the sand towards the Kailani, ignoring the stone pillars Felix had created to hold it upright. He reached out with one hand, placing it gently on the wood, and slid it towards the gash. He lightly touched at the sharp, broken edge of the boards, pulling a small splinter from one.

"Even if you don't want me to," Felix said from behind him, "I still need to apologize. I know how much she means to you."

Piers left his hand on the hull, running his fingers along the tiny crevice between two planks. He said nothing for a minute, trying to think of how best to phrase his thoughts. He knew Felix would wait. Felix understood how to think before speaking, a rather uncommon art, Piers had found.

"My father left on an expedition from Lemuria," he said quietly, not turning around. "The last one until my own. We never heard from him again. We never knew if he had been lost at sea, or simply never made it back through the Sea of Time. They calculated how long he could live with the amount of draught and simply called him missing. But my mother and I..." he shook his head. "We knew the truth. He died, somewhere, somehow. He would never come home."

He turned around, finding Felix staring at him. No mask hid the sorrow on his face. "When I left, my mother fell ill, as you know. I tried my hardest to convince her before I left that I would not meet the same fate, that I would return to her. It took much time, but eventually, she accepted it. When the tidal wave carried me off, however, all of my words proved to be for naught. She became convinced she had lost me as well, yet instead, I lost her."

"Piers..."

"Hers was not the only weak heart in my family," he continued, ignoring Felix. "I was lucky. I inherited my father's. My mother inherited hers from her father, as well...as did my uncle."

Understanding suddenly washed over Felix's face. "No... Ensio? Is he...?"

Piers nodded. "He has fallen ill, as well. There is nothing to be done. He's not expected to see the next year."

"Then we need to finish this as quickly as possible, so that you can return to him before he passes on," Felix said firmly.

The sailor smiled and shook his head gently. "That will not happen. Hydros' emergency powers will have been returned after our departure, the Senate will ensure that. I may see Lemuria again someday, should they lift my exile, but I will never see my uncle again."

The chirp of a gull caused both of them to look up, finding one perched on the bow of the Kailani. It peered down at them, chirped once more, then returned to the air. Piers watched it go, then turned back to the ship. "She is my reminder of them. She represents the family I've lost to the sea, in one way or another. But at the end of the day, she is still just a ship."

He turned back to Felix and locked eyes. "Do you understand me, Felix? She is just a ship. If need be, I can get another. I still have my memories of my family. What I do not want to have is just memories of you. She is the family I've lost. You are the family I've gained. All of you. If I have to trade the Kailani for any of your safeties, it is a sacrifice I will make without hesitation."

Felix stared back at him for a long moment, then nodded. "I understand."

Silence returned, broken by the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the sand. Somewhere in the distance, a gull cried out again, though the call went unanswered. The blue in the sky had begun to darken, while the clouds turned yellow with the onset of dusk.

"Let's head back," Piers said finally. "Perhaps Jenna and the others have returned."

"I hope so," Felix said with a light scoff as they turned and headed for the road to Yallam. "Sheba has been pining for her for the past day."

Piers glanced over at Felix curiously. "Did you console her, then?"

Felix turned to him and said flatly, "Stop that."

Shaking his head, Piers said, "You can't continue to pretend to see nothing. The signs are so terribly obvious that you have no plausible deniability."

"She doesn't realize I know," Felix said shortly.

"That's because she's a young girl in love," Piers said. "She tries so hard to keep it from you that she's convinced you don't know, even if everyone else does. If one were to press her, I'm sure that deep down, she would admit it's all a charade."

"I don't see the need to force the issue," he said, shaking his head. "When she is ready, she will tell me herself."

Piers paused, again wondering how to make his point. Felix could be remarkably perceptive most of the time, maintaining his mind open to all ideas. When he chose to be narrow-minded on a subject, however, he began to border on stubborn with his views. Several of those subjects were common contention points with Jenna, which always bore arguments that never failed to grate on Piers' nerves.

An argument was not what he sought here. "Describe Sheba to me."

The man glanced over at him. "What?"

"Tell me what kind of person she is," he said, kicking a stone off the path. "Tell me as if I had never met her before."

"Alright. She's... She's generally upbeat. Determined. Very kind. She- what?"

Piers stopped, shaking his head. Felix stopped as well, turning to face him fully. "I'm not asking for the description of a friend. Tune out your relationship to her, whatever it may be, and describe her with a completely neutral mind."

They began to walk again as Felix closed his eyes, slowly breathing through his nose. Piers waited patiently, knowing the difficult task he asked of the man. A friend would ignore and see past another's faults, or perhaps even turn them into positive traits, making them unable to accurately describe them without feeling guilty. To speak of someone completely neutrally, he could not see them as a friend.

And yet, to erase such emotions, the memories that bonded the two together, even temporarily, was a difficult task. Such detachment of one's mind would not be possible for most people, Piers knew, but he believed Felix could. After all, wouldn't a similar separation be necessary in order to betray his entire town?

When Felix opened his eyes, his voice had gone flat, as if reading off a soldier's report. "Sheba is an immature girl, who frequently thinks that others should do things her way. She can be unreasonable at times, especially when under emotional stress. She has a tendency to speak down to those she is not friends with, though without malice. She can be highly reckless at times, when she feels the cause is justified. She has a mischievous streak that rivals Jenna's."

Piers nodded as Felix paused, waiting.

As he expected, the man continued after a brief moment. "She also has a generous streak. She thinks little about sharing what she has with others, regardless of the quantity. She has a great willpower, though it sometimes turns into pure obstinacy. She uses it to prove herself, but she does good things in the process. She is a loyal companion who bears no ill towards any she calls friend. She wears her emotions on her sleeve, but refuses to let others help her with them."

He fell silent. "Good," Piers whispered. He turned forward again as their footsteps crunched along the dirt path, the sound of the waves no longer reaching them. A breeze from the ocean followed in its place, dragging some fallen leaves past them and across the path, spinning them in small spirals as it went.

Several minutes passed before Felix spoke again, his tone returned to normal. "Why did you want me to say that? You know all those things as well."

"Because you needed to hear them, and you needed to know them as truth," Piers said quietly. "You need to have a clear, unbiased picture in your head of Sheba."

"Why?" he asked.

"I want you to imagine Sheba, on the path she is now, in the situation she is now," Piers continued. "I want to hear your thoughts on how this situation will resolve itself."

That familiar silence surrounded them, filled with the light tension of hard thought and pending words. When it broke, it dissolved with a gentle sigh, rather than the shatter that typically ended a calm. "She wants to tell me," he said at last. "She's tried already, several times, but can't muster up the courage. It's eating at her to be released. The longer she holds it back, the more of an emotional explosion it will be when she finally speaks it."

Piers said nothing to interrupt him, merely nodding as Felix spoke. "We're in a dangerous crisis again. The dark side of her mind will always be there, whispering to her that every minute she says nothing, she risks losing the chance forever. It's going to push her to say something before she's ready, the longer this goes on. And if she doesn't have the courage to tell me to my face, she's going to..."

Felix paused now, then turned his face to the sky. "She'll do something stupid. Something reckless to prove her feelings, so that she doesn't have to say them. And given who we're up against, something like that could very well get her hurt...or killed."

"Yes," Piers whispered softly, barely making more than a hiss. Had the wind not died a moment before, the word would have been lost in Jupiter's breath.

Slowly, Felix nodded. "You're right. I can't let this go on, much as I'd like to. I need to stop it."

Piers glanced over at him quizzically. "Stop it? Do you think you can end her feelings so suddenly?"

"Not what I meant," Felix said, shaking his head. "I meant that I need to end this tension. Let her feelings get out into the open."

Nodding, Piers briefly debated whether or not to ask the question that came to his mind, then decided to anyway. "I might be prying a bit here, but...what are your feelings towards her?"

Felix shrugged. "The same as to the rest of you. Nothing more."

Piers raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you'd jump off a lighthouse for me?"

"I would," he said immediately. "I've risked my life for you several times."

"I'm not talking about risking your life," Piers said, moving a bit closer to Felix. "I'm talking about having just fallen into a situation of certain death. Would you follow me to that certain death, knowing you could do nothing to prevent it?"

Much to Piers' surprise, and for the first time he could ever remember, Felix's cheeks flushed a slight pink. "I...wasn't exactly thinking straight then."

He moved closer, throwing one arm around Felix's shoulder, finding a strange enjoyment in his friend's discomfort. "You? You, the most rational-thinking person I know?"

Felix turned his face away. "I don't know what happened there. I'd just watched two of my companions die, while the girl they kidnapped and I promised to protect fell to her death. I wasn't at my most rational. I... I remember thinking that I could do something to save her."

"And what was that?" Piers asked.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "By the time I realized there was nothing I could do, I had already jumped. Now, I could probably have saved us, but back then? We would have been little more than splatters."

"Poseidon's gift to you," Piers muttered. "I just want to make sure you're being honest with yourself about Sheba, as well. It wouldn't be fair to make her be honest, otherwise."

"There is love," Felix admitted. "But I don't believe it's the kind she hopes for."

Piers clapped Felix's shoulder once more. "Sometimes, all you need is love. The kind matters little."

- \/\/ -

When they arrived back in town, Hama greeted them outside the inn and informed them that the food would be ready in a few minutes. The three stood outside together, their talk slowly turning from discussing the ship's damage and future plans to idle chatter. Felix watched the discussion shift without concern. Once Jenna and the others arrived, once their group was whole again, then would be the time to speak of plans. For now, he would simply store his ideas and bide his time.

His mind slowly drifted away from the conversation as he glanced around the town. All around them he saw the stone huts of Yallam, firelight flickering out from their windows as people retired for the night. Despite living so close to the great swamps to the west, the people of Yallam had found a long expanse of structurally sound land to build upon. It's location shielded it from earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, cyclones, and nearly every other natural disaster that plagued cities.

They truly had little to worry about. Between their modest fields and fishing game, food never became a concern for them. They had very little trade with others, something that Piers hoped to change, but they needed none to continue on with their lives. For most of those in Yallam, they would be born, grow up, live out their lives, and then die in the village. It sounded peaceful.

It sounded dreary.

Felix remembered asking Piers if he could go back and spend the rest of his life in Lemuria, never leaving the city again. The man had admitted he could not, that the monotony would be too much. Felix knew the same would apply to him. Even had Vale not been destroyed, even had he not been estranged from its citizens, he would never have been able to stay there.

The idea of living in one place did not put him off, but rather the idea of doing nothing. Even when he had been younger, he constantly sought ways to keep himself occupied in the town. He frequented Kraden's cottage, studying from the scholar, assisting him with experiments, and accompanying him on short expeditions. His parents misinterpreted his actions and thought that he would follow in the old man's footsteps, becoming a scholar himself. In truth, Felix had no great love for studying Alchemy, though he did enjoy spending time with Kraden. Alchemy had just been a better alternative to nothing.

Even in the past year, he had been on the move, going where he could find work. Doing field work for Kraden in Tolbi had taken a few months, but after that, he turned to mercenary work, acting as a guard for trade caravans entering and departing Kalay. In true human nature, as people discovered their capacity for Psynergy, many sought ways to use it for personal gain. Several turned to the most basic, barbaric way of doing so: attacking travelers on the roads.

But as the cities began to respond to such attacks, the call for mercenaries would drop once more. He could easily get hired as a permanent guard; Kraden himself had offered multiple times. The work did not attract him, however. Guard work was best characterized by long periods of boredom punctuated with brief moments of chaos and blood. He wanted to work on something with progress, something that he could move forward with.

"Felix!"

He snapped his head back towards the inn, finding Piers standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow. "Are you alright?" the man asked.

"Fine," he said, shaking his head. "Just thinking. Were you calling me?"

Piers nodded. "Dinner is ready."

"Sorry." He ignored Piers' amused expression as he followed him inside to the dining area, finding the others already seated around a great, round table. Ned and Dorothy sat with them as well, both speaking with Garet, who sat beside the couple.

Piers grabbed a chair from along the wall and walked to the table. He looked first at the double gap between Isaac and Sheba, glanced back at Felix pointedly, and sat down next to Isaac. Felix rolled his eyes and drew his own chair up, sitting down.

Several dishes sat in the middle of the table, the couple obviously unaccustomed to cooking for large groups and substituting quantity with variety. He could see two different fish dishes, one fried and one boiled, topped with a red powder that he expected to be some type of pepper. A pot of brown rice stood to one side, while a pot of soup stood on the other. Felix could see some diced vegetables floating in the murky brown liquid, but could not discern exactly what they were. A basket of bread rolls stood next to the pie that Dorothy quickly placed near her, noting how Garet's eyes frequently flicked towards it.

As the dishes each made their way around in a circle, Sheba passed the soup to him and smiled. "I helped make it."

"Did you?" Felix asked, taking it from her and sniffing at the fine trail of steam that rose from the pot. "It smells delicious," he said, ladling some out into a bowl.

Her smile grew wider as Ned looked over. "You were a great help with everything. Thank you. Both of you," he added, glancing at Garet.

"The only thanks a cook needs is the ability to taste his masterpiece," Garet said, eying the boiled fish as it slowly approached him.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Before Ivan taught you anything, the most you could do was roast a piece of meat over a fire."

"And look at how much progress I've made in such a short time," he said, reaching out and taking the bread rolls, dropping one on his plate. "I'm truly a prodigy. I've found my true calling."

"My stomach gives me strength!" Isaac said in a poor imitation of Garet's voice, earning a giggle from Sheba.

Hama smiled as well, breaking off a piece of her bread. "To find something you both enjoy and excel at is a great moment in one's life. Too many spend their lives doing something they might be skilled at, but get little enjoyment from."

"Have you found yours, Hama?" Sheba asked.

"I have," the woman said, nodding. "I learned much in my earlier years, traveling around the world, and I get no greater enjoyment than from passing that knowledge on. I am meant to teach others, I believe, and I will gladly spend my life doing just that. What about you, Sheba? Have you found anything that you could spend the rest of your life doing?"

The girl leaned back in her chair, smiling. "I'm not sure. When I was younger, I thought I would grow up, take over for Faran, and lead Lalivero. Now, though..." She shook her head. "I'm not much of a leader. I think someone else would do it better."

Garet smirked and raised his glass of water. "Good call."

Sheba's hand moved towards the bread roll, then paused, as if she had just remembered they were not eating alone. It hovered over her plate for a moment, then fell back into her lap as she settled for making a face at Garet.

Hama, never failing to appear amused at their antics, turned to Felix. "What about you? Where will you be heading, Felix?"

He placed another piece of fish in his mouth and chewed slowly, giving himself time to think about the question. Once he was ready, he swallowed and said, "I think I might return to Prox."

The answer received some level of surprise from everyone, save the innkeepers, who simply looked at each other blankly, and Piers, who merely nodded to himself. Hama's eyebrows raised, while Isaac and Garet looked up at him suddenly, their eating paused. Sheba, however, almost dropped her jaw onto the table.

"Prox?" she nearly squeaked. "Why Prox?"

"They have a lot of work to do, but will have difficulty getting it accomplished," Felix explained, then nodded his head to his left. "Piers mentioned how they're looking to build new villages, try and repopulate the north. I can't imagine anyone else will really be willing to go do that. Besides, it's now the closest thing to a home I have."

"But it's so far away!" she protested.

"What's the big deal?" Garet asked, getting over his initial shock. "I'm sure he'll still visit. Besides, you've got Ivan to keep you busy."

Now it was Felix's turn to be surprised. "Wait, what?" He glanced over at Sheba to find her as confused as him.

Garet glanced between the two quickly. "Oh, was that not public knowledge yet? Sorry, Sheba, I saw you two in Tolbi but I didn't realize... Crap, wait, never mind."

Realization dawned on Sheba's face, along with a flush. "No! That wasn't- Garet, you idiot, we weren't..."

His mouth twisted into a frown as he looked at her. "You were in his room, inches away from his face, and he looked uncomfortable in that way that only girls make him. I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised. I always thought you had a thing for Felix."

Felix's head snapped towards Garet, hoping his glare would shut the young man up, but the damage had already been done. From beside him he heard Sheba cry, "Idiot!" The chair suddenly scraped across the floor as he turned towards her, then toppled over as the girl nearly jumped from it, dashing to the door and running outside.

The silence at the table lingered alongside a heavy tension for a few seconds, before Felix spun back around, gathering all the tension and throwing it across the table. "Garet!"

The young man visibly flinched, obviously aware of his misstep. "Dammit... I think I messed that one up, didn't I?"

"I think that might be a slight understatement," Hama said quietly, resting her forehead into her palm.

"Felix..."

He turned to Piers, their eyes meeting momentarily as he recalled their previous conversation. A simple flight from dinner could very well turn into something stupid, he realized. Leave it to Garet to force his hand in the matter.

Felix nodded, standing up. "I'll go talk to her."

By the time he got outside, however, he could not see the girl. The sky burned with streaks of flame, the sun now eclipsed entirely by the mountains. It lit the area well enough just to make things out, but as he scanned the shadows, he could see no trace of Sheba or her movements.

He doubted she would head further in town, though. She could never stand people seeing her weak, even if they were complete strangers. She had run to be alone. Felix turned to the side, dashing towards the nearby fields the children frequented, knowing as well as Sheba that they would now be empty.

The quiet murmur of conversation, dishes, and fires died out as he moved away from the inn, crossing the road that ran from the river's bend to the shore. The gentle chirping of crickets, the steady song of frogs, and the soft rustle of leaves in a breeze replaced it as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The path turned aside and Felix followed it, picking out the unnatural pattern of rocks laid out in the field. He still could not believe Yallam's famed boatsman, even after all this time. To trust everything he had learned of reaching Lemuria to the town's children... Yepp had either been a genius or an idiot. He had never bothered to ask Piers which.

As he passed the first of the stones, he spotted movement beneath a great tree in the distance. He stared at it for a moment, but saw nothing, so he moved towards it. As he came around the trunk, he could see a pair of knees pulled up to a chest. Rather than clear the trunk, he walked up to it and sat down against the opposite side.

As soon as his back touched the wood, though, the clear path his mind had been following suddenly vanished. He knew he had to follow Sheba, knew he had to maintain some physical boundary between them while she recovered, but he had no idea what he needed to say to her. Words of comfort? Apology? Consolation?

Everything he could think of seemed flat and meaningless, but try as he might, he could not think of anything more appropriate. Rarely did he find himself in this situation, and he disliked it immensely. The only thing he could do was wait for her to speak, then work from there.

He laid one hand gently upon the ground, feeling her weight through the earth. It trembled slightly, yet he could hear no sounds of crying from the other side. Even now, it seemed, she still tried to hide her tears from him. Or was it especially now?

He leaned his head back against the tree, looking up into the sky. Above the trees to the east, he could see the first of the night's stars winking faintly back in the deepening blue sky. A stray gust of wind wrapped around the tree, making him tuck his hands into his armpits. He had forgotten how far south they had traveled, returning to winter from the band of permanent summer at Weyard's waist, though Yallam certainly enjoyed a moderate winter.

"You should go back, Felix."

Dropping his head back down, the man peered around the trunk slightly, but could not tell if Sheba had moved. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," her voice drifted around again, steady and calm. Had he not known her, he would have believed her.

"Then let's go back together," he said, equally calmly.

The girl did not respond, nor did she make any motion to rise. Felix sat there quietly, listening closely for anything further, but nothing more came for several minutes. When it did, the steady tone of her voice wavered slightly. "Do you have to go to Prox?"

"It's never been for certain," Felix said gently. "I want to do what I can, and Prox just seems like a place that could use my help. Kraden wants my help for a project of his anyway, so I'd still be in Tolbi for a while, regardless."

Another minute of silence fell between them as the sky grew darker. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you how to live your life."

"You're not," he said. "You just don't want me to leave again, and I understand that completely."

"It's not... Felix, I..." She trailed off for a moment. Felix could practically see her closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Felix, I... I..." Something, likely her fist, thumped against the tree's trunk. "Felix, I love you!"

The sound of frogs around them softened suddenly at her outburst, giving the proclamation a poignant silence that followed. After a few seconds, however, they resumed their high-pitched croaking, taking with it the tension.

Felix stood up, brushing the seat of his pants briefly, then walked to the far side of the tree. Sheba's eyes remained fixed on the ground as he sat down beside her, just barely peering over the tops of her knees. "I know," he said softly.

She sighed, dropping her head slightly to rest her forehead on her knees. "I'm sorry," she whispered, barely audible over the ambiance of night.

"For what?" Felix asked, glancing over at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Sheba picked her head up and shook it. "I shouldn't be putting this on you. You have enough to worry about without babying a girl with a stupid crush, too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that all it is to you? A crush?"

"...I don't know," she admitted, hiding her face behind her knees again. "I have no idea."

"If it was, I'd be a little hurt," he said, looking up at the sky again. "After all this time, after all we've been through, and a crush is the only feeling you have?"

She looked up once more, this time actually turning towards him. "That's not... I mean, there's-"

He held up a hand to quiet her, looking over as he did. "Sheba, I love all of you. I'm happy when you're in a good mood. I'm angry when you're hurt or scared. I'm disheartened when I see you sad. I share your emotions because I care for you, and I care what happens to you. You've all become family to me, joined by blood spilt rather than blood shared."

Sheba opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head and continued. "I know the feeling is mutual. I've seen the same love from all of you in our battles, in our arguments, in our victories. Whatever feelings you have for me past that, I know that they are deep-rooted in the love we already share. Even if you took those away, that love would remain. To liken your affections to a simple, girlhood crush undermines everything we've done together."

He fell silent and she looked down again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't," he said gently. "And that's exactly why I'm here right now. You matter to me, Sheba, and I don't enjoy seeing you like this. We have other concerns, of course, but I'll never ignore yours because of that."

"Felix..." Without warning, Sheba threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace as she buried her face into his shoulder. He hesitated briefly, then returned the hug, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

They lay against the tree like that for some time, the last of the red vanishing from the sky. The sheet of stars had spread across the heavens as dusk turned to night, some continuing to hide beneath the patchwork blanket of clouds. Felix gazed up at them, wondering if Fate had heard his prayers for a more exciting life, all those years ago, only to vow to make him regret them.

No, that wasn't right. While he certainly would prefer to continue on through the rest of his life without the weight of the world on his shoulders, he would not take back his wishes. After all, was his life not the sum of every calamity that had befallen him? Without them, he would not be sitting against this tree right now, trying his best to calm and comfort Sheba.

He smiled, thinking of how much a spit in the face it must be to Fate. The Anemoi threatened the entire world, preparing to obliterate entire civilizations, yet here he sat in a field, far away from them, focused more on a fifteen year old girl's throes of the heart. "I don't answer to you," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," he said, glancing down at her, then back up at the sky. "Come on, we should get back. It's getting late."

Sheba sighed, but let him go and pushed herself off him. "I suppose. Can I hit Garet when we get back? At least once?"

He stood up, pulling the girl to her feet as well, and smiled. "I'll hold him for you." She giggled, but did not let go of his hand as he led her back around the tree. Not for the first time, he marveled at how small her hand was.

As they walked around the tree, the grip suddenly tightened sharply in the same moment Felix saw the man standing in the field with them. "So touching," the man said with a smile on his face, the fading light just enough to illuminate his green hair.

Felix instantly pushed Sheba behind him, his hand reaching for his sword. When it clasped around air, he cursed loudly; it still sat against the wall in the inn, where he had placed it while they ate.

"Surely you don't think resistance will change anything," he said, moving towards them slowly. "I may have underestimated your friends' resourcefulness last time, but I hardly think the two of you stand a chance."

"You must be Clotho," Felix said quietly, his mind whirring. Plenty of earth to work around him, and if the king moved much closer, the roots of the tree could be placed to good use, as well.

"I prefer Your Highness, Your Majesty, or if you must, King Clotho, worm," he said conversationally, continuing towards them.

Clotho carried no weapon that Felix could see, nor could he sense any metal on the man. Disappointing; either would have made for useful leverage. "I don't see any need to waste words while addressing a pigeon," he said.

The king laughed, then stopped and shook his head. "Your people have grown insolent in our absence. Let us skip these pointless slights and return to the business at hand." At the last word, he held out his own. "Come with me, Phoebe."

Felix stared at the man in confusion for a moment, but when comprehension dawned on him, it dawned with a red fury. "You will not touch Sheba!" he roared, Venus Psynergy rolling off him in waves unconsciously.

"Sheba, is it now?" Clotho asked. "Well, Sheba, I must insist that you come with me."

Rather than deny him with words again, Felix reached into the ground with his mind, driving the rock beneath Clotho upwards in sharp, jutting thorns. The Anemian simply jumped into the air, however, great white wings bursting from his back and keeping him aloft. Felix gaped at them for a moment, only now remembering the comments about his wings, when Clotho suddenly swung an open hand. A great gale struck Felix in the side, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Clotho stared down at him with disdain. "This discussion does not involve you." Slowly he descended, landing in front of the jagged ground, once again holding his hand out to Sheba. "Now, Phoebe, or Sheba, whatever you call yourself, come here."

"No!" she cried, the terror in her voice pushing Felix back to his feet instantly. Raising her hands, she called the winds to her in a burst of Psynergy. They careened towards Clotho, curving as they approached and swirling around him. Dirt kicked up from the ground, obscuring the man from sight as the small twister turned dark.

"Let's go," Felix said over the howling of the cyclone, grabbing her hand and pulling. He skirted around the edge of the twister, his eyes not leaving it until they had passed by, falling into a dead sprint. They needed to get back, get to the others. Isaac had the sword, perhaps they could figure out how to use it. Even if not, between the six of them, they could likely stand a fighting chance. Did Clotho know about Chi? Perhaps. Even so, they could still use it to their advantage, he suspected.

When the wind suddenly fell silent behind them, Felix ground to a halt and let go of Sheba's hand, spinning around. Clotho held his hands out to the side, staring after them. "Sheba, go!" Felix shouted.

"I think not," Clotho said calmly. Both hands swung forward to point at them, a rush of wind immediately rolling over them, but doing nothing more than whipping at their clothes and hair.

Felix narrowed his eyes. Why had he used such a weak gust, when he had already shown himself to be much more capable? The answer came as Jupiter Psynergy washed over them both, Felix's muscles instantly relaxing as his eyes blurred. "No," he murmured, throwing dirt into the air between them and the king. Its presence mitigated the effect of the spell, but the damage had already been done. He felt his knees weaken and fail, falling to one while holding himself up with one hand.

His vision drifted out of focus as his head grew light, but when he shook his head to clear the effects, the reprieve lasted mere moments. Behind him he heard Sheba faintly say, "Felix...don't...give up..."

He took a deep breath and looked up once more, finding Clotho standing directly in front of him. His vision held for one long second before everything faded to black.