Chapter Two – The Water Sage

Yugi's heart was lighter as he traveled forth the next day. Not only had he slept deeply and well in the royal-berry glade but he had food, directions, and warm hugs from Vialla. Celedor had nodded his head gravely at Yugi instead, but Yugi clearly felt the regard of the elven warrior in the simple gesture.

Following their directions had been easy. The Water Sage's pool was not too far from their town – several hours away on foot. Yugi reached it a few hours after taking a break for his midday meal.

The stillness and quiet somehow held the holy air of a sacred place. Yugi wondered at his fancy, reasoning that it must have been sparked by the columns that marched in two ordered rows from the shore down into the water, where they spread to define a circular shape in the clear, blue pool. The shell-white columns soared up and supported – nothing. The illusion was that they supported the airy substance of the sky, somehow creating a dome of ether over the primal water of the pool. The effect was powerful and the profound concept of "as above, here below" was simply displayed in how the water perfectly mirrored the captured sky.

Awestruck at the simple beauty of the place, it took Yugi a few minutes to notice the small structure next to the still margin of the pool. Supported in an elegant framework of subtly curved and bleached driftwood, a long, thin object of sparkling green, decorated with gems of a deep purple hue, hung. Yugi blinked at it for a moment before recognizing it as a sort of bell. What took him that moment was that the round, dark green clapper of the bell was nested in a slightly larger cone-shaped clapper of a lighter green tone, which was itself nested in a slightly larger clapper, which was nested in a larger bell one final time. Hoping it was the right thing to do, Yugi reached out, and decisively pushed the bell into a swing.

A clear, beautiful tone rang out, to be added to nearly immediately by a second, no less lovely tone, and finally finished with a third tone as the curiously constructed bell sounded the chord it was designed to play. So entranced was Yugi by the ringing, liquid notes that he failed to notice that the surface of the pool was no longer smooth. Ripples raced toward the shore, bearing something in their wake.

"You rang?" a warm, rich voice, filled with gentle amusement brought Yugi out of his reverie inspired by the chord of the summoning bell. Despite the softness of the voice, Yugi jumped and whirled. A man stood waist-deep in the water. He appeared to be somehow garbed in water, as folds of it flowed and draped from his shoulders in what appeared to be a cloak. Gold gleamed through the folds of the water at his biceps and wrists. The long white hair streaming down the man's back and white whiskers flowing into a beard on his face gave him an air of ancient gravity. Seeking to center his racing thoughts against all these strange and detailed perceptions, Yugi glanced into the man's eyes.

Their clear blue was deeper than that of the water, and almost seemed to hold a shadowed sort of sorrow.

"I – I..." Yugi stammered.

The man's eyes widened in surprise.

"You've finally come, young one. I have waited patiently for this day, for thousands of years," the man in the water whispered.

"Are you the Water Sage? If so, I was told to find you," Yugi asked.

"I am the Water Sage. And, you are the Chosen One."

"Chosen? What was I chosen for?"

"To save us. You will be the one to release three mighty beings and save us from the capricious claws of Chaos. But, in order to do so, you need to enlist the help of the three Kindly Lords."

"That doesn't sound too hard."

The Water Sage chuckled. "Don't let the name fool you. They are called 'Kindly' only because they guard the people from the Chaos Lord. With their power and frightful minions they are, in a way, merely the lesser of the evils. Still, I think you might be able to sway them to help you."

Yugi blinked at the man in the water, trying to understand the whirlwind of destiny that had somehow caught him up. "Why me?" he whispered. "I'm not strong, or clever, or wise..."

"Perhaps not. Perhaps so. But, you were chosen because you have great heart. Even in this brief meeting, I can sense it shining within you. Your heart inspires me to help you."

Yugi chanced to look in the Water Sage's eyes again, reading the sincerity of the man's words in his expression. He was shocked to discover respect there, too.

"Come. Let's get you prepared properly for the adventure that destiny has placed upon you. Follow me."

The Water Sage swam deeper into the water toward the center of the pool. Sighing that his clothes and gear were going to get wet and hoping that it wouldn't ruin his leather boots, Yugi followed until it became obvious he would have to swim if he continued. Just as he wondered how he'd manage while wearing his travel pack, the Water Sage circled back toward him.

"Forgive an old merman that he forgot you can't breathe water," the Water Sage muttered as his hands inscribed mystical patterns in the air before coming to rest on Yugi's shoulders. "Now, you can. Follow."

Yugi was entranced by the quiet peacefulness of the pool as he walked along the bottom. The Water Sage swam ahead, to show the way, but not so fast that Yugi had to hurry to follow him. In the center of the pool a structure of some kind shimmered with more than the sunlight dappling through the water above. He followed the Water Sage through an archway and was surprised to see what appeared to be a stone dock. The Water Sage motioned Yugi toward the steps leading from the water to the top of the dock, before pulling himself out of the water. A purple shimmer of magic, partially obscured by robes made of water, turned the Water Sage's tail into a pair of legs. Yugi stared in open-mouthed wonder.

"What? Oh, it's only a small magic. There are wonders more marvelous than this to reveal to you!" The Water Sage lifted an ornate robe from a hook set in the wall and shrugged his shoulders into the sleeves. As he belted the robe about his waist, the magical water garment he'd worn in the pool splashed to the floor. It drained along runnels in the floor. "You can leave your travel gear here," the Water Sage offered. "It will be safe. You might," the man's eyes twinkled at Yugi, "consider getting out the water yourself."

"Oh!" Only then did Yugi realize he still stood in the water. As he walked up the stone steps to the floor, he realized the water remained behind in the pool. He was completely dry.

"Can't have you dripping all over my floors, now can I?" the Water Sage winked at him. "I drip on them enough."

Yugi shucked out of his pack and hung it on a hook in the wall. His travel cloak followed.

"Are you hungry? Never mind. Young men are always hungry. Follow me!"

Yugi watched everything in a sort of bemusement as the Water Sage puttered about a small, but complete, kitchen preparing a meal for them. While he worked, he asked Yugi how Vialla and Celedor were, since he knew Yugi had encountered them, and they were friends. Destiny, or the matter of the Hero, wasn't mentioned at all, for which Yugi was grateful. After seeing to his meal, the Water Sage escorted Yugi to a most curious chamber where a soft mass that appeared very much like dry seaweed in the middle of a wooden frame on the floor was obviously a bed. The walls of the chamber were curved and thin, for the shifting, dappled pattern flowing across them had to be light from above reaching through the water over their heads.

"The guest suite."

"Water Sage, I came here to see if you could help me break the curse this pendant has on me." Yugi fished the pendant out from his jerkin. "Your hospitality has been amazing, and I thank you for it, but – I really just want to get home."

The Water Sage nodded. "I understand, young one. But, it's night. That light playing on the outer shell of my home is moonlight, not sunlight. You've journeyed far to get here. Rest – sleep if you can, and I will research to find out what I can about that pendant of yours. May I take a closer look at it?"

Yugi made as if to slip the chain over his neck to hand it to the Water Sage. "No, young one. Merely hold it out for me. Since it is so tightly attuned to you, I would take an injury if I were to touch it."

Yugi did as he was bade, turning the pendant in his hands to permit the Water Sage to see the images on all four sides, as well as the top.

"Strange." Yugi peered down at the pendant as he turned it in his hands. "One side, whichever side faced west, has been lit since I left home. And..." He shook his head. "I'm not feeling the same pull..."

The Water Sage smiled faintly. "Perhaps that is because you have made it to where the pendant was leading you."

"Oh! Does this mean – the curse, or whatever it was that caused me to wander – is broken?"

"Time will tell. For now, sleep. I should have some answers for you in the morning."

– – – – –

Yugi woke gently the next day, completely refreshed by his sleep in the strange seaweed bed. He wondered why as he bathed and got ready for whatever this day would bring. He reasoned it might be because he was 'inside' as opposed to sleeping under the stars – even though this inside was stranger than any he'd seen before. When he returned to the main room after his bath, he discovered his traveling clothes had been cleaned, neatly folded, and left on the edge of the bed. The Water Sage might be one of the oddest people he'd met, but he certainly was thoughtful.

"Good morning, young one."

Yugi turned toward the door he'd left open on purpose. He didn't want to wander around the Water Sage's home uninvited, but he suspected the Water Sage would be too polite to enter, or perhaps even knock on the door to his room. It would be silly to waste too much time being overly polite to each other – so he left the door open as a way to show he was ready to leave the suite.

"Follow me. I can tell you what I've found over breakfast."

Yugi listened with growing dismay as the Water Sage explained that the pendant has a formal name – the Pendant of Pharaoh. It was an ancient artifact whose true purpose was unknown, but it had, through the millennia, inspired people to grand and heroic works. The Water Sage wondered if the Pendant perhaps contained the soul and will of an unnamed ruler, for it seemed to be solicitous toward the people of the land, inspiring a Hero whenever something too powerful threatened too many. He related some of the stories of the Pendant of Pharaoh's past activities throughout history. The Water Sage was sure the Pendant had most certainly chosen him.

Yugi shook his head in disbelief that he was now caught up as they were in the bonds of history-changing destiny. "Why me?!"

The Water Sage smiled a bit sadly. "Why any of us?" The merman regarded Yugi with a hooded gaze for a very long moment. Finally, he stood, and gestured for Yugi to follow him. As they walked through the curious dwelling, Yugi noticed it was spiraled, like a shell. The Water Sage led him through the winding corridors, and the maze-like rooms that allowed access further and deeper into the shell's spiral. Finally, they arrived at the room that was at the center of it all. Much like the pool outside, the center of the Water Sage's shell-home held the deep aura of a mystical and sacred peace. Yugi paused naturally at the archway while the Water Sage descended a stairway and entered the small chamber. As he did so, a subtle, purple flash of magic turned his legs into his merman's tail again. Only then did Yugi realize this center chamber was completely filled with water. The only dry area was the doorway he stood in.

Niches and shelves along the walls held vials of different colored liquids and boxes of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Crucibles and alembics the likes of which he'd seen in the wise-woman's house were also situated on a long and deep shelf that had to serve as the worktable in this curious room. The Water Sage swam with decisive assurance across the room to the side that was shadowed from the soft light filtering in from above.

"Ah, here. I need to discern if you are the true hero of legend. Only the Hero may claim the Sage's Stone, for it is a powerful and proud artifact. Those unworthy of its power are turned to dust at its merest touch." The Water Sage reached up to a recessed shelf and pulled down a box. Two flicks of his tail and he was back in front of Yugi, reverently bearing the golden thing in his hands. Strange runes, the likes of which Yugi had never seen, wrapped so sinuously across the surface it almost seemed as if they actually writhed. The Water Sage lifted the lid of the golden box to reveal a puddle of silver-shot black. He reached in and carefully moved the edges aside, enabling Yugi to see the black for what it was, a silken cloth. Once it had been opened, the silk revealed a teardrop-shaped pendant, a couple inches long, of the warmest and most inviting purple hue Yugi had ever seen. Shadows rippled under the surface of the pendant, swirling gently in the gem's depths.

"Ohhhh!" Yugi breathed, reaching toward the purple pendant without quite realizing what he was doing. His fingers itched to touch the smooth surface and he longed to gaze deeply into the swirling shadows. Remembering his manners just in time, Yugi snatched his eager hand back. "May I – touch it?"

The Water Sage smiled wryly at him. "It doesn't repulse you? You aren't struck by how cold and evil shadows swim inside the gem?"

Yugi shook his head vehemently. "No! The shadows in the stone aren't cold, or evil. Can't you see? They are – soft and warm. Like a comforting hug during a thunderstorm, or a gentle voice that wakes one from a nightmare."

"Indeed," the Water Sage replied. He stood patiently on his tail, holding the golden box with its treasure of black silk nestling the purple pendant. The invitation was there for Yugi to touch the Sage's Stone – if he dared.

Yugi didn't think the pendant would hurt him, no matter what the legends said. He wasn't sure he was a hero, but it was almost as if the Sage's Stone was whispering directly to his heart, telling him that it had been waiting, patiently, all these years, for him.

His heart hammered so loudly in the hushed room Yugi thought the Water Sage must certainly hear each heartbeat, too. Yugi reached forward again. Suddenly shy, his fingertips brushed against the hem of the silk. It could be a trap. A lure, to tempt me into touching it and dying, Yugi told himself. Still, he didn't believe that to be true. Somehow, it seemed – right – for him to touch the pendant. In his deepest heart, he didn't think it would hurt him, even though he was sure he wasn't the hero of legend. Without thinking, his hand crept along the silken black folds of cloth and finally dared to touch the perilous stone.

"It's warm." Yugi's voice was soft. "It's not cool, like a normal gemstone."

"And you have touched it, yet live. Claim the Sage's Stone, Hero Yugi. The artifact, and all its power, is yours to command," the Water Sage suggested.

Yugi picked up the strangely warm gem and spent a long moment indulging in watching the shadows swirl within the stone. He noticed a rhythm, almost like a pulse in how the shadows moved, a conviction that was eerily reinforced as he held the stone. "It – it has a heartbeat." Yugi whispered in a barely audible voice.

"A noble, guardian heart, yes," the Water Sage agreed, taking the pendant from Yugi's hands, deftly stringing it onto a cord of woven black silk, and threading the cord around Yugi's neck. Yugi's hand crept up to touch the comforting warmth of the gemstone where it now lay over his heart. It took only a moment for his heartbeat and that of the Sage's Stone to align and become one. "Now the Sage's Stone – ah, it is no longer mine to guard for you..." The Water Sage cupped his chin and pondered for a moment. "As it has joined with the rhythm of your heart, it should have a new name. The Hero's Heartstone has accepted you. It is now able to guard you and help you on your journeys, Hero."

A flash of light caught Yugi's eye. He looked down, fearing what he would see. He sighed when he realized one side of the golden pendant glowed, again.

Gentle fingers lifted his chin until his gaze met that of the Water Sage. "Do not think of it as a curse, young one. Consider the Pendant of Pharaoh your guide. A rather insistent guide, yes, but I am certain it will lead you truly down the hero's path."

"I'm not..." Yugi sighed again. He couldn't think of himself as a hero. If not for the Water Sage's help... "I wish you could come with me."

The Water Sage was not without regret as he lowered his eyes and shook his head. "I can only transform my tail into legs here, inside my home. A merman would be far too great a burden on you during your travels. Besides, there is nothing I can give you, nothing I can do for you, and no knowledge I can impart to you greater than what you, yourself, already hold here." The Water Sage moved the Heartstone to one side and tapped Yugi lightly over his heart. "Your heart will guide your actions truly, your Pendant will guide your steps accurately, and your Heartstone will protect you faithfully – far better than anything this old merman could manage."

Yugi turned the Pendant on its chain, causing the glow to dance from one side to the next. "Where is it pointing now?"

"I believe it's toward the Realm of Shadows, where the Lord of Blood and Shadows, and the mightiest of the three Kindly Lords, dwells. If you can enlist his aid, the other two lords will most likely help."

"'Gather the lords'," Yugi murmured.

"Yes, I guess that is what you are doing. What a succinct way to put it."

– – – – –

Author's notes –

Yugi was a bit out of his element in this chapter, but the Water Sage helped him find his grounding. *unrepentant grin* I bet everyone can guess who the Lord of Blood and Shadows is.

Next chapter teaser – The Purple Knight

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