Okay, here's another chapter in my Golden Sun fic: The Silver Eclipse. Creativity hasn't been my strong suit lately. Thanks Botan04 for adding this to favorites. And Kairin, thanks for the review. Sorry I can't thank you through PM because it only lets me reply to signed reviews. And sorry for the confusion.
And thanks, Seesea18 for the recent review. Sorry I was taking a long time with continuing this fic, I was occupied with some of the other stories on my profile, mostly with Kingdom Hearts Dissidia Duos, one of my Kingdom Hearts/Dissidia Final Fantasy crossovers. I will be introducing two more OCs in this chapter, three if you count the guard from the beginning of this chapter.
Reconsidering what pairings I will use. Hm. If anyone else thinks Matthew/Sveta is too weird, I'll do Karis/Matthew instead. That leaves Amiti, who I guess I'll try pairing with Himi or Sveta instead if that turns out to be the case. Please let me know what you think, there's still a lot of ground I need to cover with this fic before its done. Eoleo is probably in his thirties since he appears in The Lost Age as a toddler, so pairing him with any of the Dark Dawn girls would be kind of awkward. Either way, its still fairly early on into the story, pairings will be officially decided later.
If anyone is wondering about the message in my author's note and the chapter before that, the petition has probably passed and fanfiction has likely stopped trying to do away with mature stories and fics that have yaoi/yuri pairings.
Disclaimer: The Golden Sun series is developed and copyrighted by Nintendo.
Chapter IV: Skirmish
In the country of Morgal, on the north side of Angara, the citizens were beginning to recover from the Grave Eclipse. Volecheck, the king of Morgal, had sacrificed himself at the Apollo Sanctum to protect his sister from the potent light of the Sanctum and activate the Apollo Lens, stopping the Grave Eclipse in the process.
Sveta, the former king's sister, assumed the throne and busied herself with trying to form diplomatic ties with Yamata and Champa and making peace with Sana while defending her borders from Bilibin. Though the country was mostly at peace, the Tuaparang Empire was steadily preparing to invade Angara, unknown to even Bilibin.
In the castle of Belinsk, the Queen of Morgal was doing some paperwork while the majority of her country's soldiers were either training, defending the town from monsters or defending Morgal from invasion from Biliben. All seemed quiet until a morgal guard addressed her"Your majesty."
Sveta looked up"Hm? What is it, Ian?"
The beastman guard replied"Biliben soldiers have caught us off guard at the bridge connecting our kingdoms. We need reinforcements!"
Sveta groaned"Biliben could seriously not be still attempting to conquer us, even after the suffering caused by the Grave Eclipse... I cannot send anymore soldiers to the front lines, but mayhap I could send word to Ayuthay."
"If only Matthew and the gang were still around, they'd beat back Biliben in a heartbeat" shrugged the guard.
"We cannot waste time thinking on how our allies could help us. Send for some of our guard, I will personally lead the reinforcements while you send word to Prince Amiti of Ayuthay" instructed Sveta.
"But your majesty! That's too dangerous! Please assign a subordinate to the task" protested Ian.
Sveta closed her eyes momentarily"I'd have hoped to settle things peacefully, to make up for the grief my brother may have caused Biliben and Sana. But now, I fear I must follow him all too soon. Ian, I'm sorry, but I must bring an end to the skirmishes one way or another. Even if my entire family line will have perished. I cannot apologize enough for this."
Ian relented"As you wish, your majesty."
"Then assemble the royal guard, captain" instructed Sveta.
Matthew and Isaac led their group through the cave to Biliben, cautiously keeping an eye out for monsters. Matthew and Tyrell used Psynergy here and there to get them through collapsed areas of the cave.
"Matthew, Tyrell and I had to talk with Lord McCoy to convince him to let us through safely to this northern section of the cave. Honestly, I was afraid we'd be delayed on our return from Morgal" Karis addressed Isaac.
The older blond Venus Adept nodded"I understand this. Frankly, I was considering asking him for aid as well, since all of the continent of Angara now has a common enemy. Matthew, where did you last see Kraden? We could use his knowledge if we are to eventually go to this Athena Sanctum."
"Kraden said he was going back to Kaley" said Matthew.
"I see" mussed Isaac, calmly leading the way through the north part of the cave.
The four Adepts eventually came upon the landscape of Biliben, calmly heading towards the capital. Isaac addressed his companions"It won't be easy to persuade Lord McCoy to allow us passage into Morgal, so let me do the talking."
Matthew nodded as he silently continued to follow his father.
The group entered Biliben, only to find it torn in select parts of the city. Karis looked around the carnage"Looks like the place still hasn't recovered all that much from the Grave Eclipse."
"No kidding" murmured Tyrell.
A group of three guards accosted them"Halt! What business do you have?"
"Its me, Isaac. We're on our way to speak to your lord" replied the blond.
"Lord McCoy is indisposed. You will have to take up your business with his queen" said the guard who had spoken.
Tyrell scowled"Man! One trouble after another."
"I smell a rat. What's going on?" asked Karis.
"Is there a problem?" A young man with dark hair and eyes the same color as Lord McCoy's approached.
"Prince Kenneth, stay back" said the guard.
"Peace, there's no need. What can I do for you all?" asked the Biliben Prince.
Isaac addressed him"Its been a while, we needed to ask your father if we could pass through to Morgal. We would also like to inform you of a outside threat coming to Angara."
Kenneth raised an eyebrow"What threat? What would possibly be worse than the eclipse we had the other day?"
"Two different ones, actually. One being the Silver Eclipse, whatever that is, and the Tuaparang Kingdom is supposedly threatening to invade all of Angara. What do you mean Lord McCoy is indisposed?" asked Karis, face slightly pale.
"My father took ill just the day before, and why would Tua invade even now? Surely, they too are occupied with recovering from the eclipse, the monster attacks got so bad here in Biliben that we had to withdraw our forces from the Biliben/Morgal border" frowned Kenneth.
"I suspect the eclipse only affected Angara. It would've gotten much worse if not for my son" replied Isaac.
"Yet we were tricked into activating it in the first place" said Karis, grimly.
Kenneth pondered for a moment"This sounds confusing to my ears, I'll admit that. Come with me to the palace and we'll talk further. While I am at it, what are your names?"
"I'm Karis" said the Wind Adept.
"I'm Tyrell. Sup?" grinned the Fire Adept.
"My name is Isaac. And this is Matthew" said the elder Venus Adept, introducing his son.
Kenneth nodded, then signaled the guards to accompany him and the Adepts to the Biliben palace. Matthew quietly observed their surroundings as they entered the palace and headed for the throne room.
"The place hasn't changed since the last time I was here" mussed Isaac.
"My mother wished to have another castle built, but the woods the lumberjacks were sent to gather lumber from was... Well, not so ordinary. Biliben was cursed, but I hear it was you, Isaac who saved us. My father told me of the incident" said Kenneth.
Isaac nodded"Indeed. So how fares your mother?"
"She's faring quite well, but enough of that" Kenneth led them into the throne room, which was guarded by several more Biliben soldiers. Isaac could not help but take note of this arrangement as he pondered silently.
"Is something troubling you?" a woman next to the throne asked.
Kenneth addressed the woman"Mother, as you requested, I have allowed these people into Biliben."
"Excellent, son" smiled the queen.
"Its been a long time, your majesty. I hear your husband has taken ill" spoke Isaac.
The queen nodded"He has, unfortunately."
"Hey, you guys knew you were coming?" piped Tyrell, surprised.
The queen of Biliben replied"Mind yourself, and this is not solely my work. Someone graciously allowed me to gain control of Biliben recently, all I need do is send men into Kolima to procure the necessary material to build me a new, bigger castle. And my son will take my husband's place as king."
"Kolima was cursed the last time someone tried to cut down Tret. Why did you want us here, now?" explained Isaac.
"You expect me to believe that? I was so beginning to think my husband loves that tree more then me. As for you, I was thinking I could hire you out as mercenaries to my cause. Biliben's influence will surely increase all the more" said the queen.
Kenneth was shocked"Mother... You never told me."
"I wanted to surprise you, my dear son" smirked the queen.
Kenneth hesitated, he knew from his father's story that Adepts and Tret weren't to be trifled. But at the same time, he felt sympathy for his mother. Karis and Matthew glanced at each other, not knowing how to react to this news.
"Hook, line and sinker. Ha! The queen was so easy to manipulate" A familiar pink-haired woman came out of hiding from behind the throne.
Kenneth almost pulled out his lance, but restrained himself as he addressed the pinkette"Are you part of this?"
"You are all such fools" The woman snapped her fingers as she cast a spell on the guards.
"Chalis, what are you doing?" the queen turned to her.
"I can't say we're not surprised you and Blados survived Apollo Sanctum" quipped Tyrell.
Chalis smiled deviously and said to the guards"Now, my loyal puppets, arrest them!"
Kenneth drew his weapon and stabbed at a guard, only to be punched in the chest. Isaac summoned his Djinn to buff his companions while Matthew and Tyrell engaged the guards up front. One guard grabbed the queen, who let out a scream before being muffled.
"Dark Adepts... Not an ounce of decency in them" muttered Karis as she kept her allies going with heal spells while occasionally attacking the guards with Wind Psynergy. Tyrell threw a fireball every chance he got, staggering their opponents.
"Stop now, or she dies" threatened Chalis.
Just then, another young man with dark brown hair and green eyes burst into the throne room with a Growth spell, jabbing the guard holding the Queen of Biliben. Relieved, Isaac cast Quake, staggering Chalis and breaking the guards free from her control.
Karis addressed the mysterious young man"Thank you."
"Who the devil are you?" demanded Chalis, seeing the newcomer.
The man replied"They call me the Spy of Yamata, I am also its prince: Takeru."
"Yamata? That's just silly, such a tiny nation shouldn't mess with Tuaporang" growled Chalis, readying herself.
"Do you want another of your just desserts, Chalis?" said Karis.
"You got lucky this time, but soldiers had already been dispatched to Morgal. You just wait, Blados and I will have our sweet revenge, soon enough" growled Chalis, running out of the room.
"Should we give chase?" a guard addressed Kenneth.
The Biliben prince shook his head"Don't bother, but we should stop the soldiers attacking Morgal. The two countries cannot afford to fight each other after being weakened by the eclipse."
"I suspect they might've been Tuaparang agents" shrugged a guard.
"Is it true? Was I deceived?" asked the queen, shocked.
"It seems that way. I'll go administer a elixir to Lord McCoy. Matthew, Karis, Tyrell, you go on ahead to Morgal" instructed Isaac.
"I already administered a antidote on the lord of Biliben, he'll recover shortly" interjected Takeru.
Karis turned to Takeru"So if you are Yamata's prince... Does that mean you're Himi's brother?"
Takeru nodded"That I am, how do you know of my sister?"
Matthew and Karis explained as best they could, Kenneth and his mother listened intently to the conversation as best they could, both feeling more surprised at the news. Isaac addressed Takeru"You have my thanks for your timely intervention."
Takeru nodded"And your son has my thanks for helping my sister. But right now, time is of the essence, I was sent to spy on the Tuaparang Empire's agents as best I could, Angara had quite a few planted in Sana and Biliben, so that was simple enough. As for how I knew what was going on in Biliben recently, I ran into some old man called Kraden, yesterday. I asked him for recent news and he told me, but seemed reluctant to. He only did because I'm Himi's brother."
"Glad you're on our side. So now what?" asked Tyrell.
"We proceed to Morgal as planned. your majesties, will you allow this?" Isaac asked the queen and prince.
"I suppose there's no other choice if Tuaparang are really behind this recent event. I will tend to my husband, I can't believe I listened to Chalis's lies and that Biliben is targeted" sighed the queen.
"May I journey with you? I'm no Adept, but I'm good with a blade" Kenneth asked Isaac.
"I'm afraid it will be too dangerous, but you can help protect Biliben. Can you tell your father we need all of Angara to unite against Tuaparang? I fear what may happen next if we do not act. We also need passage into Morgal" said Isaac.
"I cannot allow Chalis to get away with deceiving my mother. I swear on my family name that I won't get in your way" replied Kenneth.
"Very well. Let's go" said Isaac.
The queen of Biliben addressed Kenneth"Do be careful. If not for my sake, for the future of our country."
"I will" nodded Kenneth.
"And I shall grant you passage, just don't count on my men to listen to you. Most of Biliben despise Beastmen, though I never wondered about that. Mind you, I was still looking out for myself" said Queen Biliben.
"Either way, you have our thanks" acknowledged Isaac.
Meanwhile, Sveta led her guard to the border to find several of her warriors injured. One of them, a blue-haired beastwoman with catlike features addressed Sveta"Your majesty, most of us had gone down. These Biliben soldiers are different from what we dealt with before."
"Fear not, Captain Alexa. I sent a petition to Ayuthay for aid, though it may take too long for them to reach us" replied the queen, grimly.
"We'll just have to try and repell the attack on our own, then" sighed Alexa.
"My thoughts exactly" said Sveta, glancing at the bridge where several soldiers charged across with their weapons in hand. The Beastman queen calmly got into a battle stance and lunged at the nearest one, knocking him back with a jump kick.
The other Morgal guards joined the fight, barely managing to avoid getting nicked by a gun or sword. Sveta used her Djinn to buff her allies while beating back a Biliben guard or two. The leader of the Biliben attack force remarked"Ah. Here's someone who knows how to put up a good fight."
"Who might you be?" inquired Sveta.
"Heh, you were tricked. My group actually consists of Tua Soldiers, you beastmen were so easily fooled by those Biliben uniforms we stole. My name is Waylon" grinned the soldier, brandishing a blade.
"Tuaparang has never been so aggressive, they must be after something. What could that be? The Grave Eclipse has been rendered useless by the power of the Apollo Lens" inquired Sveta.
Waylon chortled"The High Empyror is no longer interested in the Apollo Lens, or that silly eclipse I heard about from my friend, Chalis. He seeks greater power, now. Tuaparang shall reign supreme, and you and the rest of Angara's Adepts will not live to see what is in store for Weyard."
"Perhaps not, but we shall not surrender so easily" said Sveta, determined.
Three Tua soldiers shot at the other beastmen guards, prompting them to dodge as best they could. Alexa readied a boomerang and threw it at the nearest soldier, knocking him down. Sveta used Slap Psynergy on another guard and punched at Waylon, who jumped back and swung his blade in retaliation. Sveta dodged and smoothly performed an uppercut, knocking the Tuaparang agent down. One of the remaining guards slashed at Sveta, who again dodged and smashed him.
"A few of these men are Biliben, now doubt. It is truly unfortunate that we would get attacked by an unforeseen menace" muttered Alexa, dodging a bullet before charging at her assailant.
Waylon got back up and pulled out a flash bomb, throwing it at Sveta. The queen of Morgal covered her eyes to avoid getting blinded and cast a wind spell to knock back Waylon. The soldier dodged and shot again, barely missing Sveta. Two guards who weren't engaging the Biliben/Tuaparang force joined their queen in fighting the leader of the invasion group, barely holding their own against the enemy.
"What a pitiful brawl, could go either way" said a shrouded figure, watching from behind a building.
Matthew and his group rushed as fast as they could to the eastern border of Biliben, talking about the events that took place before their current adventure. Karis addressed Takeru"So Tuaparang duped Biliben into working with them?"
"It seems that way" replied the Nihan prince.
A guard laid unconscious near the border village. Kenneth ran over to investigate"What the heck?"
"What's wrong?" asked Karis.
"Someone did a number on this guard, whoever did tried to make it look like a Morgal warrior did it" said Kenneth, grimly as he looked at some poorly disguised punctuation areas on the guard's armor.
Matthew heard the sound of intense combat and looked up to see a psynergy vortex starting to form, face pale at the sight"The sound... Oh no."
"We have to help Morgal, they can't possibly handle a skirmish this soon after the eclipse" groaned Karis.
"Let's hurry before the Psynergy Vortex materializes itself, fully. Once it does, those of us with Psynergy won't be able to cross" said Isaac, starting to run. The others proceeded to follow until they could see the outline of Tua and Biliben soldiers.
"Whoever's trying to start a war needs to be put in their place" grimaced Kenneth.
Matthew drew the Sol Sword and unleashed a flare at the nearest guard while Tyrell and Karis cast some attack psynergy at the soldiers. The other soldiers turned and groaned"Its a pincer strike."
"Out of the way!" bellowed Tyrell, thrusting his sword at a nearby soldier.
Kenneth, Isaac and Matthew hurried to back up the Fire Adept and slash their way through the lines of enemy soldiers, sustaining minor injuries in the process. Karis reframed from using attack psynergy, saving it for healing her allies.
On the other side of the bridge, Sveta and her group managed to defeat most of the soldiers attacking them, only Waylon and a couple more soldiers remained. Waylon grinned"I'm afraid your efforts are in vain."
"You underestimate Morgal" said Sveta, warningly.
"Perhaps, but this is only the beginning" grinned Waylon.
"Sir!" a wounded Tua soldier approached"Enemy reinforcements are... Coming from behind."
"Hm?" Waylon turned to see Matthew, who rammed him with the Sol Blade. Waylon crumpled to the ground from both the blade and his earlier injuries. Sveta breathed a sigh of relief when she saw three of her friends and three more people approach and finish off the Biliben/Tua force.
Tyrell grinned"Yo, kitty dog."
Sveta shrugged"I am going to pretend I did not hear that" and addressed Matthew"Thank you for your timely assistance."
Matthew smiled, glad to see the queen of Morgal again"You are welcome."
Isaac addressed the queen of Morgal"You are Queen Sveta, correct? My name is Isaac."
"Indeed, so what brings you here?" asked Sveta.
"Tuaparang is getting aggressive and will start invading the eastern lands, Angara including them" grimaced Takeru.
"That explains the attack. Worse of all, if what you say is true, then this was part of the vanguard, but a taste of the meal yet to come" mussed Alexa.
Isaac ignored the metaphor and addressed Sveta"Kaley will not be able to repel Tuaparang if they invade, which is why we require the support of Yamata, Sana, Ayuthay and Morgal."
Sveta grimly frowned"Morgal is ill prepared for this, so is Biliben I imagine. And you are?"
"Forgive me, my name is Isaac. I heard what happened to your king from my son, you have my condolences" said the Warrior of Vale.
Sveta smiled"Your sympathy is appreciated. I already made arrangements to contact Ayuthay, perhaps we can convince them to help us in the upcoming war. I would've liked to settle it through diplomacy, but I doubt Tuaparang is going to listen..."
From the shadows, the figure smirked'Step into my trap, fools.'
Here you go, the next chapter. Honestly, I'm not sure I was making any sense, and sorry if this seemed rushed. I can't exactly remember every move or summon used in the Golden Sun series.
I will try to get another chapter posted tomorrow if not later, but I can't make any guarantees. As for Takeru, he's not really an OC, but he might appear in an actual Golden Sun 4 game. Let me know if you want me to tweak his personality a bit, as not much is revealed about him in Dark Dawn.
Please review and let me know what you think. I can always make changes to this and previous chapters if needed.